China expelled a Philippine plane that “illegally intruded” into the airspace over a contested South China Sea shoal on Thursday, according to the China Coast Guard.
A C-208 light utility plane sent by the Philippines “illegally invaded the airspace of China’s Huangyan Island”, coastguard spokesman Liu Dejun said on Friday, using the Chinese name for Scarborough Shoal.
“The Chinese coastguard closely monitored, warned and drove the aircraft away according to the law,” Liu said.
Scarborough Shoal, known as Panatag Shoal or Bajo De Masinloc in the Philippines, is controlled by Beijing but also claimed by Manila.
The disputed triangular barrier of reefs is over 460 nautical miles from Hainan, the nearest Chinese shore, and about 120 nautical miles west of the Philippine island of Luzon.
