AFP
The Philippines has filed a diplomatic protest against the Chinese government after Beijing passed a new law giving its coast guard authority to fire upon foreign vessels in the contested South China Sea, Manila’s top diplomat said Wednesday.
The move by Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. reversed a stand that he took on Monday when he said it was “none of our business” what laws China passes.
“After reflection I filed a diplomatic protest,” Locsin said in comments posted via Twitter. “While enacting law is a sovereign prerogative, this one – given the area involved or for that matter the open South China Sea – is a verbal threat of war to any country that defies the law; which, if unchallenged, is submission to it.”
Russian Ministry of Defence
This latest back-and-forth includes an unprecedented flight by eight Chinese bombers.
The maneuvers took place in and over the South China Sea, which Beijing largely claims as its own territory.
The United States and China are engaged in the first military back-and-forth of the new year, sending many ships and aircraft into the South China Sea over the past few days.
This latest round kicked off with the return of an American carrier battle group to the region, followed by an unprecedented flight of eight Chinese bombers into nearby Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ). Both sides piled on more fighters, surveillance aircraft, and bombers, making this dance-off a considerable escalation over previous years.
Four Chinese military planes enter Taiwan s ADIZ
01/27/2021 09:12 PM
A Y-8 tactical reconnaissance plane. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
Taipei, Jan. 27 (CNA) Four Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan s southwest air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Wednesday, according to Taiwan s Ministry of National Defense (MDN).
The aircraft two Y-8 anti-submarine planes, a Y-8 electronic warfare plane and a Y-8 tactical reconnaissance plane entered the airspace between southwest Taiwan and the Taiwan-controlled Dongsha Islands in the South China Sea, according to a chart provided by the MND.
In response, the military scrambled fighter jets, broadcast radio warnings and deployed air defense missile systems to track the Chinese aircraft, the MND said.