China tries to drive away planes with top Filipino officials
Chinese forces tried to drive away two Philippine planes carrying Manila’s defence and military chiefs Friday near a Chinese man-made island, officials said, adding they admired seeing up close the stunning city-like features, including buildings, roads and a runway in the South China Sea’s hotly contested region.
Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the aircraft continued uninterrupted after Filipino pilots messaged back to the Chinese that they were flying over Philippine territory. The Chinese warned the Philippine aircraft they were entering the periphery of Chinese installations and told to avoid miscalculation.
The aircraft that took Lorenzana, military chief of staff Gen. Eduardo Ano and about 40 journalists to Philippine-occupied Pag-asa Island were “challenged” by China as they flew in the vicinity of Chinese-held Subi Reef, just 25 kilometres (15 miles) away.
“Those were just exchanges and no untoward incident happened,” Lorenzana told reporters, adding that those normally transpire amid the unresolved territorial conflicts.