China says Philippine aircraft ‘illegally’ flew over disputed sea

By AFP
February 22, 2025
An aircraft identified by the Philippine Coast Guard as Chinese Navy helicopter (left) flies near the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) plane during an aerial reconnaissance flight at Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. — AFP
An aircraft identified by the Philippine Coast Guard as Chinese Navy helicopter (left) flies near the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) plane during an aerial reconnaissance flight at Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. — AFP

BEIJING: Beijing accused the Philippines on Friday of “illegally” sending three aircraft into airspace over the disputed South China Sea, adding to longstanding territorial tensions between the two countries.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea and has brushed off competing claims by the Philippines and other countries, despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

Beijing´s People´s Liberation Army (PLA) said on Friday that two Philippine C-208 and one N-22 aircraft “illegally ventured into the airspace around China´s Nansha islands and reefs”, also known as the Spratly Islands, a day earlier.

The Chinese armed forces “maintained control over the entire journey, warned and expelled” the aircraft, the statement by the PLA´s Southern Theatre Command said. The command released an audio clip it said showed a Chinese pilot warning one of the Philippine aircraft that it was “posing a security threat to Chinese islands and reefs”, and ordering it to “leave immediately to avoid misjudgements”.