The Philippines accused China of recently firing flares at one of its aircraft while on patrol in the South China Sea.
Beijing claims most of the strategic waterway as its territory. Relations between China and the Philippines have been strained in recent months as the two countries have been embroiled in maritime disputes, raising concerns of a possible armed conflict involving the United States, a military ally of the Philippines.
The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said that on August 19, a Chinese fighter jet “conducted irresponsible and dangerous maneuvers” as a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) aircraft was flying near the disputed atoll, Scarborough Shoal.
China's unwarranted act of “harassment” was “firing flares several times at very close range, about 15 meters, from the BFAR Grand Caravan aircraft,” according to the task force statement, which included video clips of the incident.
China also fired flares from the Chinese-controlled Subi Reef on Aug. 22 near the same aircraft, as the patrol vessel was “monitoring and intercepting poachers entering the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone and territorial sea,” he added.
Flares are commonly used by military aircraft as decoys to protect them from missiles, and also for illumination.
The statement said China's actions “demonstrated a dangerous intent that threatened the safety of personnel on board” the Philippine aircraft.
In a post on the X platform, American Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson said Washington “stands firmly with the Philippines in condemning the PRC for launching flares at Philippine aircraft operating lawfully near Scarborough and Subi Reefs.”
The two countries “called on the PRC to stop its provocative and dangerous actions under the hashtag #FreeAndOpenIndoPacific.
Collision at Sabina Shoal
On Friday, China's Foreign Ministry said two Philippine military aircraft entered its airspace over Subi Reef, which is also claimed by Manila, on August 22.
China has taken “necessary countermeasures in accordance with law to safeguard its sovereignty and security,” the statement said, though it did not elaborate on what measures had been taken.
China's statement did not refer to the August 19 incident in the Scarborough Shoals airspace, which China seized from the Philippines after a dispute in late 2012.
The latest incident in Scarborough came hours after Philippine and Chinese Coast Guard vessels collided near Sabina Shoal. The Philippines reported structural damage to both of its patrol vessels in the incident.
Sabina is located 140 kilometers west of the Philippine island of Palawan and about 1,200 kilometers from Hainan Island, the nearest mainland Chinese territory.
The Philippines previously accused the Chinese Air Force of conducting “dangerous maneuvers” and dropping flares in the path of a Philippine aircraft patrolling over Scarborough on August 10.
Manila on Saturday (24/8) urged Beijing to “immediately cease all provocative and dangerous actions that threaten the safety of Philippine vessels and aircraft”.
“Such actions undermine regional peace and security, and further erode the PRC's image in the eyes of the international community,” the statement said. (ah/ft)
