Philippines told to monitor US planes with entry of 2nd aircraft in two days

A SENATOR on Sunday urged the government of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to monitor the presence of US military planes in the country, as she questioned the entry of a second C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft in two days.

Authorities should find out whether covert US military flights had aggravated the already tense situation in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait and weigh the risks to public safety, Senator María Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos told reporters in a Viber message.

“Too little is known about ongoing US military activity in our territory, while we constantly call out the presence of Chinese vessels in the South China Sea,” the head of the Senate foreign relations committee said.

The lawmaker said she is aware of exercises between Philippine and foreign militaries this month. “But the same zeal in tracking any violations in our maritime territory and exclusive economic zone must also apply where Philippine air traffic rules and joint military agreements with the US are concerned.”

On July 8, a C-17 that took off from Tokyo the night before with flight code RCH323 was spotted north of Busuanga Island past 10 a.m., Ms. Marcos said.

The plane was off the radar until late afternoon when it appeared again in the same vicinity flying toward Polillo Island before leaving the Philippine territory past 6 p.m., she added.

On Friday, Ms. Marcos issued a statement on a similar military plane that landed in Manila but which US flight planners had failed to coordinate with ground handlers at Manila’s international airport.

The first C-17 aircraft with flight code MC244/RCH244 landed in Manila at 6:03 a.m. on July 7 after leaving Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, she said, citing global flight tracker AirNav Systems.

It then flew to Palawan before 1 p.m. and headed for Yokota Air Base in the city of Fussa, Japan later in the afternoon, she added.

Although the plane’s call signal was repeatedly out of coverage during its journey, flight tracker Flightradar24 recorded its departure from Palawan shortly before 4 p.m., Manila time, and its arrival at Yokota Air Base four-and-a-half hours later, the senator said.

The flight route from Palawan showed the plane passing over Pampanga, Cagayan and off the eastern coasts of Batanes and Taiwan before it landed at Yokota Air Base, Ms. Marcos said.

“Passengers on commercial flights to and from Manila’s international airport noticed two US military planes near the runway and shared pictures with Marcos’ office,” according to the statement.

The C-17 Globemaster is a high-wing, four-engine, T-tailed military transport aircraft made by Boeing. It can carry large equipment, supplies and troops directly to small airfields in harsh terrain anywhere in the world, according to the aircraft maker’s website.

The Philippines this year gave the US wider access to its military bases under their Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, amid China’s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea.

Joint patrols between the Philippines and US in the South China Sea might begin later this year, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said in May, days after Washington reiterated its commitment to defend the Philippines from an attack at sea. — Jan Jiminel Cacdac