US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson criticized the Chinese helicopter’s actions on social media on Wednesday, and demanded that Beijing “refuse coercive actions and settle its disputes peacefully in accordance with international law.”
The Philippines said late on Tuesday that it was “deeply disturbed” by the Chinese navy’s “unprofessional and reckless” flight actions and that it would make a diplomatic protest.
The Chinese helicopter flew within 3 meters (10 feet) of a journalist surveillance flight, according to the Philippine Coast Guard.
When the naval helicopter intercepted the plane, it was about 213 meters (700 feet) above the water while attempting to follow Chinese ships around the disputed Scarborough Shoal.
The Philippine aircraft continued its low-altitude patrol around Scarborough,  , with the Chinese navy helicopter hovering close above it or flying to its left in cloudy weather, according to journalists and other invited foreign media on board the plane.
The Filipino pilot was prompted by the risky maneuvers to radioly warn the Chinese pilot: “You are flying too close, you are very dangerous, and you are putting our crew and passengers’ lives at risk.
“Keep your aircraft away from us and keep it that way.” You are violating the safety standard”, the Philippine pilot said.
Watch as a Chinese Navy helicopter approached a Philippine fisheries bureau aircraft three meters over Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, shadowing the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources aircraft for about 40 minutes. The Inquirer was onboard the BFAR… pic. twitter.com/VcVfs8MpTN
Philippine media outlet Inquirer. According to Net, the pilot of the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources aircraft made at least 19 radio challenges to the Chinese helicopter and Chinese ships in the disputed region during the flight.
The helicopter suddenly emerges and manoeuvrs to place itself as close as 3 meters (9.8 feet) above the 12-seater Cessna Caravan, according to the media outlet, playing a dangerous game of “hide-and-seek in the sky.”
China has disputed the Philippines’s account, saying on Tuesday that Manila’s aircraft had “illegally intruded” into China’s airspace and accused the Philippines of “spreading false narratives”.
Despite China’s aggressive and escalating actions, the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries stated in a statement that they are “committed to asserting our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and maritime jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea.”
The Scarborough Shoal, one of the most contentious maritime features in the South China Sea, is named after a British ship that was grounded on the atoll nearly three centuries ago, and has drawn frequent clashes with Beijing and Manila.
China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, a vital waterway that puts Beijing at odds with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam who all have maritime claims in the area.
Source: Aljazeera
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