U.S. Slams China’s Perilous Aerial Tactics Against Philippine Patrol Aircraft

The United States has strongly criticized a hazardous aerial maneuver executed by a Chinese military helicopter against a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) aircraft patrolling over the Scarborough Shoal. U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines, MaryKay Carlson, expressed her condemnation on social media, urging China to cease its ‘coercive actions’ in the region. She highlighted the dangerous actions of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy helicopter, which put at risk the lives of pilots and passengers on the Philippine mission. The incident involved a PLA Navy helicopter, marked with the tail number 68, engaging in threatening flight patterns towards the BFAR plane during its surveillance mission over the disputed territory. Accompanying the BFAR aircraft were members of the Philippine Coast Guard and photojournalists. The Coast Guard reported that the Chinese helicopter came within a mere three meters of the BFAR plane, a move they described as a flagrant breach of international aviation safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization. The National Maritime Council of the Philippines reaffirmed the country’s sovereignty over the Scarborough Shoal and vowed that such aggressive actions by China would not hinder their regular maritime operations. The Philippine government plans to lodge a formal diplomatic protest in response to this incident.