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Philippine military says Chinese air force jets endangered its patrol plane with flares, risky moves

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Philippine military says Chinese air force jets endangered its patrol plane with flares, risky moves
News

News

Philippine military says Chinese air force jets endangered its patrol plane with flares, risky moves

2024-08-10 21:26 Last Updated At:21:30

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine military chief condemned Saturday what he said was the provocative actions of two Chinese air force aircraft that executed a dangerous maneuver and dropped flares in the path of a Philippine air force plane on routine patrol in the South China Sea.

All those aboard the Philippine air force NC-212i light transport plane were unharmed and returned safely to Clark Air Base north of Manila after Thursday morning’s incident over the Scarborough Shoal, Gen. Romeo Brawner said, without providing other details.

A top Philippine security official told The Associated Press that the Chinese jets flew at a “very close distance” to the Philippine air force turbo-prop plane and “put the lives of our pilots in real risk and danger.” Another security officer said at least eight flares came from the Chinese fighter jets.

Both spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the incident.

The Southern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army said in a statement Saturday that a Philippine Air Force aircraft on Thursday had “illegally” entered the airspace above Huangyan Island — the Chinese name for Scarborough Shoal, which China claims — and disrupted its training activities.

The command sent jets and ships to identify, track and drive away the Philippine aircraft, the statement added.

“The on-site operation was professional, standardized, legitimate and justified,” it said, adding that forces remained on high alert and ready to defend China’s national sovereignty and security.

The command has warned the Philippines to “stop its infringement, provocation, distortion and hyping-up,” the statement added.

The Philippines' Brawner said in a statement that "the incident posed a threat to Philippine air force aircraft and its crew, interfered with lawful flight operations in airspace within Philippine sovereignty and jurisdiction and contravened international law and regulations governing safety of aviation.”

He said the incident has been reported to Manila’s Department of Foreign Affairs, which has filed numerous diplomatic protests against China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed waters.

Brawner suggested the incident would not stop the Philippines from undertaking such patrols in the contested region.

"We reaffirm our commitment to exercise our rights in accordance with international law,” Brawner said.

Aside from China and the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand have overlapping territorial claims in the busy sea passage, a key global trade and security route, but hostilities have particularly flared since last year between Chinese and Philippine coast guard and navy forces in the Scarborough Shoal and another hotly disputed atoll, the Second Thomas Shoal.

The U.S. military has reported encountering such dangerous maneuvers by Chinese air force planes in the past over the disputed waters, where it has deployed fighter jets and navy ships to promote freedom of navigation and overflight. China has bristled at U.S. military deployments in the disputed region, saying these have endangered regional security.

Washington has repeatedly warned that it’s obligated to defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

Simina Mistreanu in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, contributed to this report.

FILE - In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, a Chinese Coast Guard ship, right, uses its water cannons on a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel, as it approaches Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea, Dec. 9, 2023. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP, File)

FILE - In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, a Chinese Coast Guard ship, right, uses its water cannons on a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel, as it approaches Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea, Dec. 9, 2023. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP, File)

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Japan's exports hit record high, but trade deficit continues

2025-01-23 13:16 Last Updated At:13:21

TOKYO (AP) — Japan saw record-high exports last year, as its annual trade deficit declined 44% from the previous year, the Finance Ministry reported Thursday.

The trade deficit, which measures the value of exports minus imports, totaled 5.3 trillion yen ($34 billion), according to government data, as imports ballooned on the back of rising energy costs and growing inflation around the world.

Exports from the world’s third-largest economy totaled 107.9 trillion yen ($691 billion), surpassing the 100 trillion yen mark for the second-straight year, and the biggest value on record for comparable data, which dates back to 1979, the ministry said.

Some companies may have sped up their exports in anticipation of potential tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump has said he expects to put 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting Feb. 1. During his campaign, he threatened to impose tariffs on imports from China, although details on that remain unclear.

For the month of December, exports gained a greater-than-expected 2.8% on-year, while imports rose 1.8%. Exports grew to Asian and European nations, while dipping slightly to the U.S.

Imports grew most from India, Hong Kong and Iran.

Demand was especially strong for Japan's vehicles, semiconductors and other machinery.

The weakening yen, another recent trend, has the effect of inflating the value of imports. The U.S. dollar has been hovering at 150-yen levels, sometimes surpassing 160 yen, over the past year, while a year ago it was often at 140-yen levels.

Japan has recorded a trade deficit for four straight years, but last year's deficit was considerably smaller than the 9.5 trillion yen deficit for 2023.

FILE - Cars for export are parked at a port in Yokohama, near Tokyo, on July 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)

FILE - Cars for export are parked at a port in Yokohama, near Tokyo, on July 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)

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