Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano on Friday said a Chinese military plane was given diplomatic clearance to land at an airport in Davao City after the military authorized it, contradicting an earlier statement by military officials that it was the other way around.
鈥淚t鈥檚 nothing irregular. There鈥檚 nothing fishy about it. It is something that countries do,鈥� Cayetano said in an interview with CNN Philippines.
In fact, he said the Philippines had extended the same accommodation to 243 US and 33 South Korean military aircraft.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said he learned of the presence of the Chinese military plane belatedly.鈥擬ARLON RAMOS
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