International backlash taught China lesson after dangerous mid-air incident, says PCG

MANILA, Philippines — Chinese military aircraft kept its distance from a Philippine patrol plane flying over Scarborough Shoal on Monday, March 24 — a change the Philippine Coast Guard attributes to the international backlash that followed China's "reckless" flight maneuvers last month.

A People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy helicopter was seen tailing a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) plane at a distance of three miles in the airspace above Scarborough Shoal on Monday morning, according to the Philippine Coast Guard.

This stands in stark contrast to last month's incident when a Chinese helicopter came within just three meters of a BFAR plane conducting similar patrols.

"For the [maritime domain awareness] flight, what we monitored is the deployment of the PLA Naval Air Force helicopter... But surprisingly, it didn't come close," PCG Spokesperson Jay Tarriela told reporters during a press conference late Monday afternoon.

"I would like to believe that the PLA Navy helicopter has already learned from the backlash of the condemnation of the international community that what they did is reckless and dangerous," Tarriela said. 

What came before. While the PLA Navy helicopter with an unidentified tail number issued radio challenges, Tarriela said this was a far cry from a Chinese military helicopter's actions on February 18 when it nearly destabilized a BFAR plane carrying journalists and PCG personnel.

At the time, Tarriela had characterized the incident as one of China's "most dangerous" actions yet in the West Philippine Sea. This refers to the waters within Manila's 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone that overlap with the South China Sea.

That specific incident similarly took place in the airspace above Scarborough Shoal, a maritime feature that lies within the Philippines' 200-nautical mile EEZ and around 472 nautical miles from China's nearest coastal province. 

The United States Department of State had condemned China's "reckless" flight maneuvers and called it a threat to the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea. The United Kingdom, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark and the European Union also expressed concern over the incident. 

Change in behavior. Tarriela believes the distance kept by the PLA Navy helicopter this time around is a result of Beijing's safety precautions following its close call with Philippine aircraft on February 18. 

"I would also like to believe that such action was already called out by their headquarters considering that it didn't just endanger the lives of the Filipino crew and the Filipino passenger on board the BFAR aircraft last month, but it also endangered their own lives," Tarriela said.

For Tarriela, the behavior of the PLA Navy aircraft on Monday shows "they are more careful and more cautious in conducting counter operation of our [maritime domain awareness] flight."

The PCG spokesperson noted that there are "always radio challenges" from the Chinese side during these operations, but the BFAR pilots consistently respond by challenging "the illegal claim of the People's Republic of China in the territorial space of Bajo de Masinloc."

During the PCG and BFAR's patrol flight on Monday, they spotted several Chinese vessels swarming the waters near Scarborough Shoal. Among these is PLA Navy warship 574, which was spotted at a distance of 25 to 27 nautical miles from the feature. 

Beijing has persistently ignored a 2016 international tribunal ruling that invalidated its claims over nearly the entire South China Sea.