Philippines accuses China of ‘firing flares’ in ‘dangerous’ move near Scarborough Shoal

Aerial encounters near South China Sea flashpoints come ahead of meeting between top Chinese diplomat and US national security adviser

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Manila says a Chinese fighter jet deployed flares near a Philippine fisheries bureau patrol plane close to Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. Photo: AFP / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)

Published: 6:47pm, 24 Aug 2024Updated: 11:47pm, 24 Aug 2024

The Philippines has accused China of “firing flares” as close as 15 metres (49 feet) away from one of its patrol aircraft, in the latest military confrontation between the two countries in the South China Sea.

According to a statement from Manila’s National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea on Saturday, a Chinese fighter jet “engaged in irresponsible and dangerous manoeuvres” on Monday, as a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources plane made a “maritime domain awareness flight” near Scarborough Shoal.

The disputed shoal is known as Huangyan Island in China, while the West Philippine Sea is Manila’s name for its exclusive economic zone in South China Sea waters.

Chinese aircraft “deployed flares multiple times at a dangerously close distance of approximately 15 metres” from the inspection aircraft, the Philippine statement said.

On Thursday, a Chinese aircraft also launched flares near the same plane from Subi Reef, a Beijing-held artificial island also claimed by Manila, according to the statement.

According to Agence France-Presse, China’s foreign ministry said on Friday that “necessary countermeasures” were taken “in accordance with the law, in order to protect its own sovereignty and security” after two Philippine military aircraft flew into its airspace over Subi Reef.