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

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. 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. 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. 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.