China helicopter flies dangerously close to BFAR plane

MANILA, Philippines — A Chinese military helicopter flew dangerously close to an aircraft of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) yesterday as the latter was on patrol over Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman on the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela said the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA-Navy) helicopter, identified by tail number 68, came as close as three meters to the port side of the BFAR aircraft at around 8:39 a.m.

“This reckless action posed a serious risk to the safety of the pilots and passengers during the MDA (maritime domain awareness) flight,” Tarriela said in a statement on X.

The BFAR aircraft, with PCG personnel and photojournalists on board, was conducting routine monitoring within Philippine territorial airspace when the incident occurred.

Tarriela condemned the PLA-Navy’s actions, calling it a violation of international aviation regulations set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

“The PLA-Navy’s clear violation and blatant disregard for ICAO’s international aviation regulations raise significant concerns,” he said.

Despite what it described as “aggressive and escalatory actions” from China, the PCG and BFAR reaffirmed their commitment to upholding the Philippines’ sovereignty, sovereign rights, and maritime jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea, he stressed.

In an interview with The STAR, BFAR spokesman Nasser Briguera said the bureau would not be cowed into abandoning its mandate by the latest Chinese show of aggression.

“We expect (these kinds of incidents) as it is mandatory for us the monitoring and surveillance of our bodies of water, so BFAR is really on the frontline,” Briguera said.

“We are still committed to carry out our mandate in terms of monitoring, control and surveillance in terms of the conservation and protection of our marine resources,” Briguera added.

He said BFAR and PCG have a memorandum on agreement on assisting each other in patrolling the West Philippine Sea. “We have a MOA in terms of manning both floating and flying asserts,” he added. — Bella Cariaso, Delon Porcalla