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)
PARIS (AP) — Gisèle Pélicot, the woman who was allegedly drugged by her now ex-husband over the course of a decade so that she could be raped by dozens of men while unconscious, is becoming a symbol of France's fight against sexual violence.
Some 700 people gathered at Place de la Republique in Paris in support for the 71-year-old and all rape victims in France. Some carried banners that hailed Pélicot for speaking out about her horrific ordeal and assured other victims of sexual violence that they are not alone. “Victims, we believe you. Rapists, we see you,” one banner said.
Since the beginning of the extraordinary trial on Sept. 2, during which Pélicot will face 51 of her alleged rapists, she has been praised for her courage and composure.
First, there was her decision to keep the trial public — after the court had initially suggested that it be held behind closed doors. She allowed journalists to publish her full name, and the court to exhibit explicit videos recorded by her husband showing men engaging in sexual intercourses with her naked, inert body.
She has said her decisions were in solidarity with other women who go unrecognized as victims of sexual crimes.
“It’s very important to be here because we need to talk about the rape culture,” said Anna Toumazoff, an activist and one of the organizers of the Paris protest. “After seven years of MeToo, we know that there is not a special type of victim. We are also collectively realizing that there is no special type of a rapist.”
Despite several waves of the #Metoo reckoning in France, which featured several high profile women speaking publicly about the trauma they’ve endured after years of sexual abuse, protesters said that much of the violence remains unreported and often goes unpunished.
On Sept. 5, Pélicot spoke about her ordeal in public for the first time since police officers, four years ago, called her in to tell her the unthinkable. With a calm and clear voice, she detailed the horror of discovering that her former spouse had been sedating her and invited at least 72 strangers into their house in Provence to have sex with her.
“For me, everything collapses,” she testified. “These are scenes of barbarity, of rape.”
National broadcaster TF1 that day described a “dignified, strong," woman, who was "holding her head high.”
In an open letter translated into English and published in French newspaper Le Monde, journalist and author Hélène Devynck thanked Pélicot for her bravery, echoing the feelings of many other French people.
“You entered our lives like you entered the Avignon court, through the front door,” wrote Devynck, a figure of the French #MeToo movement. “It’s not just you, Gisèle, that they’ve treated like a thing. They were telling us, all of us women, how insignificant we are. Your strength restores ours. Thank you for this immense gift."
Next week, Gisèle Pélicot will have to brave another mountain: facing the man whom she shared her life for over 50 years, and father of their three children. Her lawyer has said she is planning on attending his testimony.
Her ex-husband, Dominique Pélicot, has previously confessed to the crimes to investigators. But his court hearing will be crucial for the panel of judges to decide on the fate of the 50 other men accused of rape.
A majority of the defendants are contesting the accusation of “rape”. Some have claimed they believed a husband’s consent for sexual intercourse was sufficient, others said they were tricked by Dominique Pélicot to believe his wife was consenting.
One lawyer representing six defendants has shocked the nation arguing that “there is rape and rape, and without intention, there is no rape.”
Magali Lafourcade, a magistrate and secretary general of the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights, also applauded Gisèle Pélicot. She stressed that in France, studies suggest that nine out of 10 women who are victims of rape do not press charges. And when they do, about 80% of the cases are dropped.
For health reasons, Dominique Pélicot has been exempted from attending the trial since Wednesday. He is expected to testify on Monday or Tuesday, his lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, has said. Asked whether her client was trying to get out of testifying, Zavarro said Friday that he “had been waiting for his trial, he wanted to talk and be confronted to his wife and children.”
Dominique Pélicot, now 71, and the 50 other defendants face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
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Associated Press writer Barbara Surk in Nice, France, contributed to this report.
Gisele Pelicot, centre left, leaves the Avignon court house with her sons, David, left, Florian, center background and her lawyer Stephane Babonneau, right, in Avignon, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. A woman allegedly drugged by her ex-husband so that she could be raped by other men while she laid unconscious, is expected to testify before a panel of French judges. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)
Gisele Pelicot speaks to media as she leaves the Avignon court house, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. A woman allegedly drugged by her ex-husband so that she could be raped by other men while she laid unconscious, is expected to testify before a panel of French judges. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)
