The Philippine government accused China of firing flares just a few metres from one of its planes on patrol over the South China Sea last week, RFI reported.
Beijing claims much of the South China Sea and has engaged in tense maritime clashes with Manila over the strategic waterway in recent months, raising fears of an armed conflict that could involve the United States, the Philippines’ military ally.
On August 19, a Chinese fighter jet engaged in dangerous manoeuvres when a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) aircraft was flying near Scarborough Shoal, according to the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea. The manoeuvres included several firing of flares at dangerously close range about 15 metres away from the BFAR Grand Caravan aircraft, the task force said in a statement.
On 22 August, flares fired near the same aircraft from China-controlled Subi Reef were fired when a patrol ship was tracking and intercepting poachers entering the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and territorial waters, the agency added. The military usually uses these missiles as decoys for defence against missiles as well as for illumination.
China’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that two Philippine warplanes intruded into its airspace over Subi Reef, causing China to take “necessary countermeasures in accordance with the law, in order to protect its own sovereignty and security.”
The Chinese statement did not mention the 19 August incident around Scarborough Shoal, which occurred hours after Philippine and Chinese coast guard vessels collided near Sabina Bank, with the Philippine side reporting structural damage to both of its patrol vessels.
Tensions between the two countries have been ongoing for a long time, but the unrest has intensified recently. The Philippines had earlier accused the Chinese air force of making a “dangerous manoeuvre” and dropping flares in the path of a Philippine aircraft that was patrolling Scarborough on August 10.
In June, the Philippine military said one of its sailors lost a thumb in an encounter off the island of Second-Thomas Shoal when the Chinese coast guard, armed with sticks, knives and an axe, also confiscated or destroyed Philippine equipment, including firearms.
China, in turn, blames Manila for the unrest in the region and maintains that its actions to defend its claims are legitimate and proportionate. Beijing continues to claim virtually the entire South China Sea, despite a ruling by an international tribunal that its claims have no legal basis.
