Updated Feb. 19, 2025, 10:38 p.m. ET
MANILA, Philippines -- A Chinese military helicopter flew dangerously close to within 3 meters (10 feet) of a Philippine aircraft in the skies above the contested Scarborough Shoal, a Filipino coast guard spokesman said.
A Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, or BFAR, Cessna turboprop plane was conducting a low-altitude tracking flight on Tuesday over the shoal, which is within South China Sea waters of the country’s exclusive economic zone, or EEZ, when the standoff took place. It saw the Chinese helicopter hovering close to or above the aircraft.
About 90 minutes into the flight, a People’s Liberation Army Navy helicopter “performed dangerous flight maneuvers toward the BFAR aircraft,” coast guard spokesman Jay Tarriela said.
The Chinese helicopter “came as close as three meters [10 feet] to the port side and above the BFAR aircraft,” he said in a statement, adding that the Chinese flight blatantly disregarded international aviation regulations established by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
“This reckless action posed a serious risk to the safety of the pilots and passengers during the MDA flight,” Tarriela said, referring to a maritime domain awareness flight.
“The PCG [Philippine Coast Guard] and BFAR remain committed to asserting our sovereignty, sovereign rights and maritime jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea, despite the aggressive and escalatory actions of China,” he said. Manila refers to South China Sea waters within its EEZ as the West Philippine Sea.
Filipino journalists working for international news agencies were on the BFAR flight, which involved Philippine Coast Guard personnel. During the encounter, a photographer for Agence France-Presse, who was aboard the Philippine plane, took a photo showing a member of the Chinese helicopter crew aiming a camera at the BFAR Cessna (pictured below).
The Associated Press, which had a television cameraman aboard the Filipino aircraft, said the Filipino pilot warned the Chinese helicopter on radio that it was flying too close.
Scarborough Shoal, considered a rich fishing ground by Filipino fishermen, is a triangular chain of reefs about 125 nautical miles (232 km) from Luzon, the country’s main island. It has been under Beijing’s de facto control since 2012, but in 2016 an international arbitration tribunal ruled against all of China’s claims to the area.
The ruling also said that the Scarborough Shoal was a rock – not an island – meaning that even if it was entitled to a 12-nautical mile territorial sea, it couldn’t generate its own EEZ. Instead, the shoal is recognized as part of the Philippines’ EEZ and continental shelf.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila said the Philippine aircraft had “intruded into China’s airspace” without permission. It confirmed that the military organized naval and air assets to track, monitor and “drive away” the Philippine aircraft.
“Without the approval of the Chinese government, the Philippine aircraft illegally intruded into Chinese airspace,” military spokesman Tian Junli said, according to Xinhua, China’s state news agency.
“The United States stands with its ally the Philippines to condemn the unsafe and irresponsible actions by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) to interfere with a Philippine maritime air operation in the vicinity of Scarborough Reef,” the department said in a statement.
Such Chinese actions “are a threat to navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, and we will continue to support our allies and partners to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific,” it went on to say.
Air incident last week
Tuesday’s incident came days after Australia protested what it called an “unsafe and unprofessional interaction” involving a Chinese J-16 fighter aircraft on Feb. 11. An Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon aircraft was patrolling over the Paracel islands in the South China Sea when the incident occurred.
No one was injured in the incident, but Australia criticized the unsafe maneuver by the Chinese fighter jet. China rejected Australia’s complaint, saying that its aircraft flew into Chinese airspace over Xisha Qundao, its name for the Paracels that is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.
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China has controlled the territory since 1974 when its troops took it from South Vietnam in a battle that killed 74 Vietnamese sailors.
Manila’s foreign department spoke out on behalf of Australia last week, and said all countries must avoid “interference in legitimate activities” in international waters and airspace.
BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization.
Updated with comment from U.S. State Department.