Britain will ignore any Chinese warnings to fly over "artificial islands"

London will ignore any warnings from China in international airspace after Beijing “warned” Philippine pilots to stay away from airspace over disputed waters, the British ambassador said.

China's illegal runway construction on Cross Reef in Vietnam's Truong Sa archipelago. Photo: AFP

British Ambassador to the Philippines Asif Ahmad said on January 19 that Britain opposes any attempt to restrict freedom of navigation and overflight in the disputed South China Sea, after Philippine pilots said they received “threatening” radio warnings while flying near “artificial islands” illegally built by China in the South China Sea. “If British aircraft, military or civilian, are intercepted and prevented from flying in what we consider international airspace, we will ignore it,” Mr. Ahmad said.

Britain’s response to China’s increased military presence in the region comes at a time of concern that Beijing may be pursuing efforts to restrict freedom of navigation and flights near the “artificial islands” it has illegally built over the past two years in the South China Sea.

Earlier, on January 18, the Australian Prime Minister warned Beijing not to pursue sovereignty claims that could lead to a clash with the US, which launched a maritime surveillance operation (FONOP) around two “artificial islands” in October 2015. “If avoiding the ‘Thucydides trap’ is a core objective of China’s strategy – as President Xi Jinping has asserted – we hope that China’s actions will be carefully calculated to avoid a conflict… Claiming sovereignty over rocks and shoals is secondary, when this objective is put first,” Mr. Turnbull said during a meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington.

Philippine civil aviation officials said on the same day that the Chinese navy issued two warnings when aiming at a Cessna patrol plane flying near an “artificial island” illegally built by Beijing in the South China Sea earlier this month. The incident occurred when the plane was on its way to the Philippine-controlled Thitu (Pagasa) Island to conduct technical surveys for the installation of a radar center specializing in tracking civilian flights later this year. Pagasa is near Subi Reef - one of seven reefs that China has “turned” into “artificial islands” in the Spratly Islands belonging to Vietnam.

Specifically, Mr. Eric Apolonio, spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), said that when the Cessna approached Thitu Island at a distance of about 40 miles (about 65km), the pilots received an "urgent announcement" over the radio channel, saying "foreign military aircraft, this is the Chinese navy. You are threatening the security of our station." Mr. Inocencion Yncierto, a CAAP consultant on the flight, said that the Philippine pilot ignored the warning and landed on Thitu Island. Mr. Apolonio shared that some people on board were a bit worried at that time, because "you don't know, we could be shot down."

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs has received CAAP's notification of the "incident" and will issue a statement on the matter, said Herminio Coloma, spokesman for the Philippine Presidential Palace.

Along with many countries in the region, the US, Japan, Australia and the UK have voiced their opposition to China's recent unreasonable actions in the East Sea, most recently Beijing conducting a test flight on the 3,000m runway illegally built on Cross Reef in the Truong Sa archipelago under Vietnam's sovereignty. International public opinion is concerned that this move may be part of Beijing's plan to establish an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East Sea.

* “Thucydides Trap” (named after the Athenian historian Thucydides) is a term often used in international relations, with the general implication that: When a newly rising power seeks to “usurp” the throne of another dominant power and change the established order, the outcome mostly leads to catastrophic wars.

According to News