MANILA, Philippines – Echoing his softened tone toward China, President Benigno Aquino III on Thursday, November 28, downplayed the rising superpower’s move to send an aircraft carrier to the disputed South China Sea.

“Let’s not play it up,” Aquino told reporters, when asked if the aircraft carrier poses an “immediate threat” to the Philippines.

He said the Chinese, after all, admitted that the aircraft carrier is “not yet fully operational.” It will take up to 3 years for it to run in full steam, he said.

For the President, this means “they’re learning carrier operations, both the crews onboard the planes and also the pilots who will be flying the planes. So they are transiting here.”

Aquino said, “Why should anybody consider it a threat?”

Escorted by missile destroyers and frigates, China’s first aircraft carrier went on a training mission in the South China Sea last Tuesday, November 26.

The newly-commissioned Liaoning left its home port of Qingdao accompanied by two missile destroyers, the Shenyang and Shijiazhuang, and two missile frigates, the Yantai and Weifang, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday, November 27, said the aircraft carrier’s deployment “serves to threaten the status quo.” (READ: ‘China threatening status quo’ – DFA.)

‘Infringes on air freedom’

The deployment came after China stirred tension over another body of water.

Over the weekend, China announced an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea.

The air defense zone requires aircraft to provide their flight plan, declare their nationality and maintain two-way radio communication, or face “emergency defensive measures.”

The zone covers Tokyo-controlled islands – known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China – where ships and aircraft from the two countries already shadow each other.

In a statement on Thursday, the DFA said the ADIZ “transforms the entire airzone into its domestic airspace, infringes on the freedom of flight in international airspace, and compromises the safety of civil aviation and national security of affected states.” 

“The Philippines calls China to ensure that its ADIZ preserves regional security and stability,” the DFA added.

Threat to PH, too

In an interview on ABS-CBN, Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the ADIZ also poses a threat to the Philippines. Del Rosario said he fears China “will control the air space” in the South China Sea.

China has been steadily increasing its military and coast guard presence in the South China Sea in recent years to assert its claim.

This caused diplomatic tensions to rise and stoking concerns in the Philippines about perceived Chinese bullying.

The Philippines filed a historic case against China over the dispute, while Aquino softened his tone.

In October, for instance, Aquino declined to explicitly tell China to back off from the disputed Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, the site of a Manila-Beijing standoff in 2012, as well as the Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal.

The President said the international tribunal, in the end, will seal the fate of what he calls the “sea known by many names.” (READ: Aquino won’t tell China to leave Panatag.) 

He said his country, too, is helping craft a Code of Conduct (COC) on the South China Sea, a binding document to ensure peace in the disputed sea.

“The bottom line is, we are undergoing arbitration. We are pursuing the second track with the COC. And at the end of the day, either or both will seek to clarify everybody’s entitlements with regard to this body of water,” Aquino said. – with reports from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com