MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Philippine-based air carriers will continue flights over a contested region of the South China Sea, despite warnings by China, Filipino President Benigno Aquino said Monday.
Last week, China's Air Force requested that a US Air Force aircraft leave Chinese airspace while the plane was flying over the Spratly islands. The islands are the subject of a territorial dispute between several states in the area.
Following the incident, the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that Beijing was lodging a complaint against US "provocative behavior."
"We will still fly the routes that we fly based on international law and the various agreements and treaties we have entered into through various decades," Aquino said, as quoted by The Straits Times.
The Spratly Islands are a group of over 750 islands and reefs in the South China Sea. The archipelago is subject to a territorial dispute between Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Beijing claims that all of the islands are part of its territory.
