![An aircraft identified by the Philippine coast guard as a Chinese navy helicopter (L) flies near a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources plane during an aerial reconnaissance flight at Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on February 18. [Jam STA ROSA/AFP]](/gc9/images/2025/02/18/49219-chinese_copter_philippines-370_237.webp)
By Focus and AFP |
The Philippine coast guard said a Chinese navy helicopter flew within three meters of a Filipino surveillance plane over the disputed Scarborough Shoal recently, marking the latest in a series of "dangerous" provocations by Beijing in the South China Sea.
The surveillance flight was carrying a group of journalists over the contested Scarborough Shoal, the coast guard said on February 18. An AFP photographer on the flight described seeing the helicopter tail the plane before drawing near the left wing, close enough to see personnel aboard filming them.
The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) helicopter came "as close as three meters" to the fisheries bureau's Cessna, the coast guard said in a statement. "This reckless action posed a serious risk to the safety of the pilots and passengers."
The plane had been flying about 213 meters above the water on a mission to observe Chinese vessels around the shoal.
'Very dangerous' move
The Scarborough Shoal -- a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the South China Sea -- has been a flashpoint between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012.
China claims the South China Sea almost in its entirety despite an international ruling in 2016 concluding this has no legal basis.
Coast guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela told reporters that the incident was the first time a PLAN helicopter had been used against a Philippine patrol plane in such a manner.
"Less than 10 feet [3 meters]. So that's very dangerous. It can definitely affect the stability of the aircraft," Tarriela said at a briefing after the incident.
Asked if the encounter marked an escalation, Tarriela said he believed China was taking a "calibrated approach" to such interactions, while reiterating President Ferdinand Marcos's declaration that the country's mutual defense treaty with the United States could be invoked if a death were to result.
The Philippine aircraft "illegally intruded into Chinese airspace," Chinese military spokesman Tian Junli said.
Flares, collisions and water cannons
The incident comes less than a week after Australia rebuked Beijing for "unsafe" military conduct, accusing a Chinese fighter of releasing flares within 30 meters of a surveillance plane patrolling above the South China Sea.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said at the time the Australian plane had "deliberately intruded into the airspace" around the Paracel Islands, also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.
The Scarborough Shoal has been the site of repeated confrontations as Manila has resupplied Filipino fishermen in the area. It lies 240km west of the Philippines' main island of Luzon and nearly 900km from Hainan, the nearest major Chinese land mass.
In December, the Philippines said the Chinese coast guard used a water cannon and "sideswiped" a government fisheries department vessel.
Manila released a video appearing to show a Chinese coast guard ship directing a torrent of water at the BRP Datu Pagbuaya.
Other footage apparently taken from the Philippine ship showed its crew shouting "Collision! Collision!" as the much larger Chinese vessel nears its starboard side before crashing into it.
Manila and treaty ally Washington have deepened their defense cooperation since Marcos took office in 2022 and began pushing back against China's claims to the South China Sea.
Escalating tensions near Taiwan
The Philippines said in December it hoped to acquire the US Typhon missile system as part of a push to secure its maritime interests.
The mid-range missile system, deployed in 2024 for annual joint military exercises, has a range of 482.8km, although a longer-range version is in development.
China has warned that acquiring the system risks triggering an "arms race."
The provocative moves by Beijing over the Scarborough Shoal come days after Taiwan said it detected Chinese military aircraft near the island as a Canadian warship passed through the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense reported that from February 10 to 12, the PLA dispatched a total of 62 military aircraft sorties within 48 hours in the vicinity of the Taiwan Strait.
The Canadian warship was the first Canadian naval vessel to transit the waterway this year, the foreign ministry said, and came days after two US ships made the passage.
Since Taiwan President Lai Ching-te took office in May last year, China has conducted multiple large-scale military exercises around the Taiwan Strait, further escalating tensions.