Philippines condemns China for 'dangerous' acts in South China Sea

The Philippines and China traded accusations Saturday following an encounter between their aircraft over a contested area of the South China Sea. It is the first time the Philippines has complained of dangerous actions by Chinese aircraft, as opposed to navy or coast guard vessels, since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office in 2022. Two Chinese air force aircraft executed a dangerous maneuver and dropped flares in the path of a Philippine air force aircraft conducting a routine patrol over the Scarborough Shoal Thursday morning, the military said in a statement. Filipino fishermen frequent the Scarborough Shoal, one of two flashpoints in a longstanding maritime rivalry with China. Beijing Wednesday organized a combat patrol near the shoal, which Manila calls Bajo de Masinloc and China seized in 2012 and refers to as Huangyan island. Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual shipborne commerce, including parts also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. The Philippines in May accused Chinese fishermen of destroying the environment at Scarborough by cyanide fishing, harvesting giant clams and other protected creatures, and scarring coral reefs, which China denied.