By Priam Nepomuceno | Philippine News Agency
The jet fighters of the China People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) that harassed a Philippine Air Force (PAF) plane holding a maritime patrol over the Bajo de Masinloc possibly came from a land base, a ranking Philippine Navy (PN) official said Tuesday.
“There was no report of any aircraft carrier in the vicinity that could have been the base for launching such an aircraft; it is safe to say these were land-based,” PN spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad said in a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
Trinidad said the PLAAF planes involved in the incident were “multi-role fighters”.
He said they have yet to receive specific details of these Chinese aircraft.
“These are part of the challenges your airmen, your pilots, face in the increasing complexity of the international arena, whether on sea or air; the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) will not be deterred from performing its mandate,” he added.
Trinidad also said the Philippines did not do anything extraordinary to warrant such an aggressive action from China.
“All of our actions historically have been in pursuit of the mandate of the AFP and of our national interest,” he added.
During the August 8 incident, two PLAAF aircraft executed a dangerous maneuver and dropped flares in the path of the PAF’s NC-212i aircraft which was then on a routine maritime patrol over the Bajo de Masinloc.
The Philippine government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, has formally lodged a diplomatic protest against Beijing over the incident.