Philippine military says Chinese air force jets endangered its patrol plane with flares, risky moves

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)

MANILA, Philippines -

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.

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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.

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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.