ARMED Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. joined the conduct of air patrol over the West Philippine Sea (WPS) where they tested the flares of a Philippine fighter jet.
Brawner said they conducted the air patrol on Friday, August 23, 2024, using an FA 50 fighter jet.
“Gumagana ‘yung mga flares natin (Our flares are working),” he said in an interview with reporters.
Two aircraft from the People’s Liberation Army–Air Force (PLAAF) executed a dangerous maneuver and dropped flares while a Philippine aircraft was conducting a routine maritime security operation over the country’s sovereign airspace in the Scarborough Shoal.
Last week, a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources airplane was also met with flares at least three times while conducting a maritime patrol near Zamora Reef, one of the features in the West Philippine Sea which is occupied by China.
Brawner said China's actions indicate the escalation of their aggressiveness in the disputed territory.
“It is an escalation, definitely. Pero di lang sa atin ginagawa iyon, pati sa US ginagawa nila, pati sa Australia ginagawa nila 'yung pagre-release ng flares. This is a form of warning the other side but then again for us, this is a dangerous maneuver kasi kapag 'yung flares tumama sa atin, that is very dangerous,” he said. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)