This Philippine Air Force release from 2018 shows an NC212i light lift airplane. PAF Facebook page

MANILA (2nd UPDATE) — The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Sunday condemned the use this week by the Chinese air force of flares in the path of a Philippine Air Force plane on patrol over Bajo de Masinloc, a traditional fishing ground off Zambales.

In a statement, Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., AFP chief of staff, said the Philippine military "strongly condemns the dangerous and provocative actions of the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) that endangered the lives of our personnel undertaking maritime security operations recently within Philippine maritime zones."

Brawner said a PAF NC-212i propeller-driven light transport airplane was conducting a "routine maritime patrol" over Bajo de Masinloc — also called Panatag and Scarborough Shoal — on August 8 when two PLAAF aircraft "executed a dangerous maneuver at around 9:00 AM and dropped flares in the path of our NC-212i."

Although the PAF airplane managed to return to Clark Air Base with its personnel unharmed, the AFP said "[t]he 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."

The incident comes after Manila and Beijing last month committed to lowering tensions in the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

READ:  Philippines, China to boost communication lines on sea disputes

The Department of Foreign Affairs also said last month that Manila and Beijing "have reached an understanding on the provisional arrangement for the resupply of daily necessities and rotation missions to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal," although the two countries seem to have disagreement on the details of the deal.

"The AFP has reported the incident to the Department of Foreign Affairs and relevant government agencies. We reaffirm our commitment to exercise our rights in accordance with international law, particularly [UN Convention on the Law of the Sea] and the Chicago Convention," Brawner said Saturday.

The Chicago Convention, or the Convention on International Civil Aviation, establishes rights and rules of airspace for safety and security. 

The AFP on Friday said that, as of August 7, there had been "no trace of Chinese military activity in the area of Bajo de Masinloc" aside from the "usual illegal encroachment'" of vessels of the Chinese maritime militia.

China defended its operations on Saturday, saying it had "organized naval and air forces to lawfully... (drive) away" the Philippine plane, following "repeated warnings", according to a statement by the Southern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army.

The statement did not say what specific actions China took, describing its operations as "professional, standard, legitimate and legal".

"We sternly warn the Philippines to immediately stop its infringement, provocation, distortion and hype," the statement said, adding that "China has indisputable sovereignty over Huangyan Island (Scarborough Shoal) and adjacent waters".

Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, brushing off rival claims of several Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, and an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

Scarborough Shoal, a triangular chain of reefs and rocks, is 240 kilometers (150 miles) west of the Philippines' main island of Luzon and nearly 900 kilometers from the nearest major Chinese land mass of Hainan. 

The Indonesia-built NC-212i is a multi-role turboprop plane designed for maritime surveillance, troop transport, medical evacuation and "special mission", according to the manufacturer's website. -- with Agence France-Presse.

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