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Will Manila protest military planes?

Jarius Bondoc
(The Philippine Star)
April 20, 2018

In landing air force transport planes on Panganiban Reef, Beijing lied to the world about not militarizing its artificial islands in the South China Sea. It reneged on promises to Manila of non-provocative acts. The region is watching what the Duterte administration will do.

Two Chinese military aircraft were photographed on the landing strip on Panganiban, internationally known as Mischief Reef. Parked meters apart, the planes apparently arrived together early this year. Panganiban is within the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone, and 600 miles from China.

Diplomatic protest is in order, experts say. Asked by reporters, Foreign Sec. Alan Peter Cayetano avoided talking of such action. He said he has yet to verify the photos, published by the Inquirer Wednesday. He supposedly does not know if the photos, dated Jan. 6, 2018, came from the Philippine military.

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Of the militarization of Panganiban Reef and Manila’s arbitral win, former national security adviser Jose Almonte said: “They’ve been constructing for years; they’ve been there since early ‘90s. War does not have to be an option. China, who wants to be a superpower, is sensitive to world opinion. We should continue to uphold the arbitral decision. We can’t enforce it because we have no armed might. Even the UN can’t implement it. And America will not implement it even if they can. So we should campaign for world opinion.”

The military aircraft landing is another step in China’s operations, said Dr. Jay Batongbacal, director of the UP Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea. “They started with cargo planes. We should watch out for fighter jets or bombers next. If this happens, it means they are expanding their operations in their bases. Eventually this will be more frequent until it becomes permanent.” Collin Koh, a research fellow at Singapore’s Rajaratnam School of International Studies, was quoted as saying, “Should Manila choose to be silent and downplay the issue, it could become routinized or normalized operations for China...There must be certain calculations within the Chinese political elite circles that Manila is in Beijing’s pocket, because of President Duterte’s desire for rapprochement and quest for Chinese aid and investments, which thus conclude that they could possibly get away with further acts of militarization.”

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