The aerial view of China's Huangyan Dao Photo: Courtesy of South China Institute of Environmental Sciences under China Ministry of Ecology and Environment
The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command on Friday revealed that two C-208 aircraft and one N-22 aircraft of the Philippines illegally entered the airspace near China's Nansha Qundao on Thursday. The Chinese military monitored the whole process, warned and expelled them.
A Chinese expert told the Global Times on Friday that this indicates a serious strategic misjudgment by the Philippines. The Philippines has tactically overestimated its own capabilities while underestimating China's determination and ability to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights.
Senior Colonel Tian Junli, a spokesperson for the PLA Southern Theater Command, said that recently, in disregard of the facts, the Philippines has repeatedly smeared and hyped up China's legitimate and lawful rights protection actions. On February 18, a Philippine C-208 aircraft illegally intruded into the territorial airspace of China's Huangyan Dao, altered its flight altitude capriciously by descending 920 meters in 218 seconds, and deliberately crossed through the flight level of China's normal patrol helicopter at close range in an unprofessional and dangerous manner, which was prone to triggering unpredictable accidents at sea and in the air.
The Philippine side even made false accusation against China by calling China's actions "dangerous." The Philippines was the first to provoke the trouble, then distorted the truth, and attempted to peddle its illegal claims, said the spokesperson.
Previously, the Philippine side described the situation as follows: when the Philippine aircraft was flying at an altitude of 213 meters above the water surface, a Chinese PLA naval helicopter came as close as three meters to the aircraft.
Ding Duo, director of the Research Center for International and Regional Studies at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times on Friday that the truth revealed by the Chinese side exposes the Philippines' real intentions: the country is willing to take such extreme and risky measures to create material portraying China as a "threat" or "bully," aiming to generate a stronger "event immersion" in the international public opinion arena through strong "visual impact." The Philippines seeks to portray itself as a "geopolitical internet celebrity," turning the South China Sea issue into a regional and even international hotspot to gain sympathy and support on the international stage, said Ding.
"On the other hand, the Philippines is also concerned that there might be a gap in the material used to hype up the 'China threat' rhetoric, which could result in the US paying less attention to it and reducing its support. As a 'pawn,' the Philippines is increasingly showing signs of anxiety," said Ding.
Tian, the spokesperson stressed, "We solemnly warn the Philippines that such clumsy tactics are doomed to fail. The Chinese military will remain on high alert to resolutely defend China's national sovereignty and security, as well as the peace and stability in the South China Sea."
"From the spokesperson's remarks, it is clear that the Philippines has a serious strategic misjudgment, overestimating itself tactically while underestimating China's determination and capability to safeguard territorial sovereignty and maritime rights," Ding said.
Ding further noted that the Philippines mistakenly believes that since aerial provocations carry a high risk of unforeseen incidents, particularly to Philippine military aircraft and personnel, the US-Philippines mutual defense treaty would play a more significant role in such scenarios, exerting so-called deterrence against China. This, in turn, would increase China's concerns about countermeasures, potentially leading to hesitation or restraint in its response. By complicating the regional situation, the Philippines attempts to raise the decision-making and rights-protection costs for China, according to Ding.
In response to the provocative actions of four Philippine aircraft illegally intruding over three days, Ding analyzed that the Philippines aims to demonstrate to the outside world that its so-called "Maritime Zones Act" is not merely a piece of paper but is backed by substantive maritime and aerial activities. By coordinating its maritime and aerial provocations with legislative infringements, the Philippines seeks to render the baselines of the territorial sea around Huangyan Dao released by the Chinese side "nominal" through relatively high-frequency aerial intrusions, especially when it finds it difficult to achieve a "breakthrough" at sea.
"A deeper reason is that the Philippines is approaching its mid-term elections, and it seeks to divert the attention of the domestic populace and elites by stirring up issues in the South China Sea, demonstrating strength on this issue to win voter support," Ding noted. "With the recent increase in aerial infringements, the Philippines believes that the costs of aerial provocations are low, with high flexibility and mobility, avoiding the need to organize government vessels and a few civilian ships for theatrics. The country also does not have to provide subsidies for Filipino fishermen to go to sea. They mistakenly think that this approach can compress the time and space for China to prepare countermeasures, which is purely a wishful thinking."
