The Armed Forces of the People's Republic of China are on heightened combat readiness and will resolutely defend their country's sovereignty and will ensure peace and stability in the South China Sea. This was announced by the Combat Command of the Southern Zone of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), commenting on the recent incident involving a Philippine plane in the Huangyan Reef area.
„On August 8, an NC-212 aircraft of the Philippine Air Force, despite repeated warnings from the Chinese side, illegally entered the airspace of the Huangyan [Scarborough] Reef in the South China Sea,” the statement said. “In this way, interference was created for the regular exercises conducted by the PRC.“
In response to the Philippine side's actions, the PLA mobilized air and naval forces to “identify the object and track its movement”. Then the Chinese armed forces "professionally and legally" gave a warning to the Philippine aircraft and took action to move it.
„We directly state to the Philippine side that it [must] immediately stop violations and provocations, abandon distortions and speculations,”, the PLA stressed. “The troops of the [Southern] Combat Command Area are constantly on high alert, resolutely protect national sovereignty and security, and maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.“
As previously stated by the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Romeo Brawner Jr., PLA jets fired missiles along the route of a Philippine Air Force aircraft in the South China Sea. According to him, these actions created a threat and therefore Manila strongly condemns them.
China has been in dispute for several decades with some countries over the ownership of certain areas in the South China Sea, where significant reserves of hydrocarbons have been found on the shelf. These are the Paracel Islands (Xisha), the Nansha Archipelago (Spratlys), as well as the Huangyan Reef, these disputes affect Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines.