The Philippines is calling on China to deescalate tensions in the skies over the South China Sea following Chinese air force actions described by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as “unjustified, illegal and reckless.” Meanwhile, Beijing says its actions were professional and legal. The Philippine military said Chinese aircraft flew dangerously close to a Philippine plane, dropping several flares in its path during its routine patrol over Manila’s Exclusive Economic Zone. The incident occurred over Scarborough Shoal, which is controlled by China despite its location within 200 nautical miles of the Philippines. In 2016, a Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling found that China's vast claims to the South China Sea had no legal basis.
Tso Chen-dong
- National Taiwan University, Political Science Professor, Former Kuomintang (KMT), Mainland Affairs Department Director, Taiwan-U.S.-China Relations Expert
Ronan Fu
- Assistant research fellow, Academia Sinica Institute of Political
Science
25:45
24:27
26:29
23:40
24:46
26:17
25:37
24:47
23:31
25:47
24:11
26:02
26:31
25:31
26:47
24:41