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Philippine Star – Sat, May 23, 2015


WASHINGTON – The United States military will continue air and sea patrols in international waters even after the Chinese navy repeatedly warned a US surveillance plane to leave the airspace over artificial islands China is creating in the disputed South China Sea.

The Philippine government also declared it would continue activities in the region, calling on China to respect freedom of navigation and aviation.

“Our position on the importance of letting freedom of navigation, freedom of aviation and international law prevail in the area we are talking about does not change. That is why this is not affected by the new development,” Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. told a press briefing yesterday.

“Our position on this matter is consistent and resolute. While we recognize that there is tension, we will remain assertive and determined to push for our position by adhering to international law,” Coloma said.

US State Department spokesperson Marie Harf said it was unclear on what basis the Chinese navy issued the warning to a US military plane that was flying over the Spratlys in the South China Sea.

Harf said the verbal warnings aired by the Chinese to the US plane could not be classified as a confrontation.

The incident, along with recent Chinese warnings to Philippine military aircraft to leave areas around the Spratly archipelago in the South China Sea, suggested Beijing is trying to enforce a military exclusion zone above its new islands there.

Recent satellite images suggest China has made rapid progress in filling in land in contested territory in the Spratly islands and in building an airstrip suitable for military use and that it may be planning another.


More at: https://ph.news.yahoo.com/phl-us-assert-rights-ignore-160000275.html

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The US Navy has released video footage taken from the P-8 Poseidon surveillance plane, which received several warnings from the Chinese military to retreat as it flew over the South China Sea -- home to vital shipping lanes.

The footage showed a flotilla of vessels carrying out reclamation works in one lagoon, and an airstrip under construction on another island.

A CNN crew on board captured a tense radio exchange between the US aircraft and Chinese forces.

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Chinese dredging vessels are purportedly seen in the waters around Mischief Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in this still image from video taken by a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft May 21, 2015. REUTERS/U.S. Navy/Handout via Reuters

"US actions have posed threats to the security of Chinese maritime features, it is highly likely to cause unwanted incidents, it's highly irresponsible and dangerous. We are strongly dissatisfied with this."

He urged the US not to take "any risky and provocative actions", saying China would "take proper and necessary measures to guard against any harm to China's maritime features and incidents in waters and airspace," he added.

China's state broadcaster, CCTV, played part of the CNN footage showing the Chinese navy ordering the US plane out of the area with Chinese subtitles.

The US does not recognise China's claims to the artificial islands.

But China has repeatedly said it has "indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha islands and adjacent waters", using its name for the archipelago known as the Spratlys.

http://news.yahoo.com/

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