China said it had expelled two Philippine aircraft near the disputed Scarborough Shoal on Thursday in the second confrontation between the two rival South China Sea claimants in as many days.
Liu Dejun, a spokesman for the Chinese coastguard, said two Philippine reconnaissance aircraft had “illegally entered Chinese air space above Huangyan Island” (the Chinese name for Scarborough Shoal).
He added that the planes had been expelled in “accordance with laws and regulations”.
The previous day the Philippines said another one of its planes had been “subjected to aggressive interference” during a routine maritime domain awareness flight over the reef.
Jay Tarriela, a spokesman for the Philippine coastguard, shared pictures on social media of a Chinese helicopter and a video of a J-16 fighter jet which, he said, had been “harassing” and “endangering” its aircraft.
“Such actions pose a clear and unacceptable risk to the safety of [coastguard] personnel and the journalists embedded on the mission,” Tarriela said.
He added that Philippine coastguards had also spotted two buoys on the reef on Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as debris from previous construction work “dating back at least two years”.
But Liu accused the Philippines of “illegally” entering Chinese airspace and said the planes had “seriously violated China’s sovereignty and threatened regional peace”.
“We solemnly warn the Philippines to immediately cease its acts of infringement, provocation and inflammatory rhetoric,” he said, adding that the Chinese coastguard would continue operations to protect the country’s “lawful rights”.
Scarborough Shoal is one of the main flashpoints between the two countries. Beijing effectively took control of the reef in 2012, but Manila says it falls within its exclusive economic zone.
Last month Beijing approved the creation of a nature reserve on the reef – a move that was seen as an attempt to cement its control over the feature.
On Sunday coastguard ships from the two countries collided near another disputed part of the South China Sea.
China said two Philippine vessels had “illegally intruded” into its territory near Sandy Cay, which is also known as Tiexian Reef, and made a “dangerous approach” to a Chinese vessel resulting in the collision.
But Manila said the Chinese ship had deliberately rammed one of its vessels after firing a water cannon at it.
