The Philippine military on Monday described as “coercive and illegal” the actions of a People's Liberation Army Air Force plane that dropped flares in the flight path of a Philippine Air Force light plane doing routine maritime patrol in Philippine airspace. 

AFP says Chinese planes dropped flares in path of PAF patrol over Bajo de Masinloc

Col. France Margareth Padilla, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson, 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."

Padilla said one of the planes hovered over the PAF aircraft while the other dropped the flares. 

“Lumiko siya and released the flares - 8 siya. Sila po ang lumapit sa atin,” she said in a TeleRadyo Serbisyo interview.

She noted the PAF 212i - which is not a fighter aircraft - was able to return to Clark Air Base safely.

She said that right before the flare incident, the PLAAF had issued radio challenges against the Philippine aircraft. The PAF pilot then responded, saying the flight was a lawful maritime patrol inside the country’s exclusive economic zone.

She said the dropping of flares posed a threat to the pilot and crew and interfered in operations conducted in localized airspace.

Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., AFP chief of staff, has also condemned the incident as part of China’s “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive (ICAD)” tactics, Padilla said, adding the Armed Forces undeterred in protecting the country and its sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea.

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.