China warns PH to stop ‘infringement’ after aerial encounter
This frame grab from handout video footage taken on June 17, 2024 and released on June 25 by the Armed Forces of the Philippines shows Chinese Coast Guard personnel aboard rigid hull inflatable boats (in black) during a confrontation with Philippine Navy personnel on their respective vessels (in gray) near the Second Thomas Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea. The Philippines on June 24 denounced Beijing’s “aggressive and illegal use of force” during last week’s South China Sea clash between its navy and the Chinese coast guard. Beijing insisted its coast guard behaved in a “professional and restrained” way and blamed Manila for the clash. (ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES / AFP)
BEIJING – China warned the Philippines on Saturday to stop “infringement” around a disputed reef in the South China Sea, after the Philippines said one of its planes was harassed by the Chinese air force.
“We sternly warn the Philippines to immediately stop its infringement, provocation, distortion and hype,” the Southern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army said in a statement.
It added that “China has indisputable sovereignty over Huangyan Island (Scarborough Shoal) and adjacent waters.”
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