BEIJING: China’s military said it warned and drove away three Philippine aircraft that “illegally intruded” into the airspace near the Spratly Islands on Thursday.
There was no immediate comment from the Philippine embassy in Beijing on the Chinese military’s statement issued on Friday.
China’s Southern Theatre Command accused the Philippine side of attempting to “peddle its illegal claims” through provocation, and warned that the “clumsy maneuver is doomed to failure.”
China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, a vital waterway for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce, putting it at odds with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
A 2016 arbitration ruling invalidated China’s expansive claim but Beijing does not recognize the decision.
On Thursday, the Philippines said its coast guard and fisheries bureau had jointly carried out a maritime domain awareness flight over the Kalayaan Islands, the Philippine name for Spratly Islands.
The mission was to assert the Philippines’ sovereignty, sovereign rights, and maritime jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea, it said. More than 50 Chinese maritime militia vessels and a Chinese coast guard ship were spotted during the exercise.
It was not immediately clear if that mission, which deployed two aircraft, was the one Chinese military said it responded to.
The latest confrontation comes after Philippine coast guard accused the Chinese navy of performing dangerous flight maneuvers earlier this week when it flew close to a government aircraft patrolling the contested Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.
Beijing disputed that account.
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China’s military drives away Philippine aircraft near Spratly Islands
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China’s military drives away Philippine aircraft near Spratly Islands
- China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, a vital waterway for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce
- On Thursday, Philippine guard and fisheries bureau had jointly carried out a maritime domain awareness flight over Spratly Islands
Sri Lankan lawmakers to meet to fast-track cyclone aid
- Sri Lanka’s parliament will interrupt its recess to fast-track financial aid needed for rebuilding after Cyclone Ditwah, which killed nearly 650 people, officials said Sunday
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s parliament will interrupt its recess to fast-track financial aid needed for rebuilding after Cyclone Ditwah, which killed nearly 650 people, officials said Sunday.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had said last week that the island nation would need at least $1.66 billion in 2026 — in addition to the $166 million he said the government would spend this year — to rebuild and recover from what he described as the “most challenging natural disaster” to hit the country.
Parliament Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne on Sunday issued a notice for an urgent meeting of the legislature, which had gone into recess after approving the 2026 budget earlier this month and was not scheduled to meet again until January 6.
“I have summoned the parliament to meet on Thursday (18th)... having been requested so to do by the Hon. Prime Minister (Harini Amarasuriya),” the Speaker said in a gazette notification.
Officials at the country’s finance ministry told AFP that the meeting was being held to approve next year’s expenditure for cyclone recovery.
Official figures show that 643 people were killed, with another 184 still missing, following landslides and floods triggered by the cyclone.
At least 2.3 million people — just over 10 percent of the country’s population — were affected by the devastating calamity. Nearly 75,000 people remain housed in state-run camps.
An official leading the recovery effort has estimated that overall damage could cost up to $7 billion.
The United Nations last week set up a $35.3 million fund to provide food and temporary shelter to 658,000 of the worst-affected people.
The fund excludes reconstruction of damaged infrastructure or private property and focuses solely on immediate basic needs.
The United Nations’ top envoy to the country, Marc-Andre Franche, said last week $9.5 million had already been secured, with the European Union, Switzerland, Britain and the United States among donors pledging funds.
The United Nations urged member states and other donors to help raise the remaining $25.8 million.
A quarter of Sri Lanka’s population was living in poverty when the cyclone struck, Franche said, urging the international community to assist the devastated nation.
Sri Lanka is also recovering from its worst-ever financial crisis.
It defaulted on $46 billion of external debt in April 2022 and secured a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund in early 2023.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had said last week that the island nation would need at least $1.66 billion in 2026 — in addition to the $166 million he said the government would spend this year — to rebuild and recover from what he described as the “most challenging natural disaster” to hit the country.
Parliament Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne on Sunday issued a notice for an urgent meeting of the legislature, which had gone into recess after approving the 2026 budget earlier this month and was not scheduled to meet again until January 6.
“I have summoned the parliament to meet on Thursday (18th)... having been requested so to do by the Hon. Prime Minister (Harini Amarasuriya),” the Speaker said in a gazette notification.
Officials at the country’s finance ministry told AFP that the meeting was being held to approve next year’s expenditure for cyclone recovery.
Official figures show that 643 people were killed, with another 184 still missing, following landslides and floods triggered by the cyclone.
At least 2.3 million people — just over 10 percent of the country’s population — were affected by the devastating calamity. Nearly 75,000 people remain housed in state-run camps.
An official leading the recovery effort has estimated that overall damage could cost up to $7 billion.
The United Nations last week set up a $35.3 million fund to provide food and temporary shelter to 658,000 of the worst-affected people.
The fund excludes reconstruction of damaged infrastructure or private property and focuses solely on immediate basic needs.
The United Nations’ top envoy to the country, Marc-Andre Franche, said last week $9.5 million had already been secured, with the European Union, Switzerland, Britain and the United States among donors pledging funds.
The United Nations urged member states and other donors to help raise the remaining $25.8 million.
A quarter of Sri Lanka’s population was living in poverty when the cyclone struck, Franche said, urging the international community to assist the devastated nation.
Sri Lanka is also recovering from its worst-ever financial crisis.
It defaulted on $46 billion of external debt in April 2022 and secured a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund in early 2023.
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