The Philippines and the U.S. ambassador to the Philippines have called on China to halt its “provocative and dangerous actions” in the South China Sea after another incident involving flares being fired at a Philippine aircraft. Philippine officials accused the Chinese military of harassing a Philippine fisheries plane, with similar incidents occurring earlier this month. The Japanese ambassador also expressed opposition to any actions that increase tensions and endanger lives. Territorial disputes between the Philippines and China have escalated over islands in parts of the South China Sea, known as the West Philippine Sea by the Philippines.
According to the Philippine’s National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS), flares were dropped near a Philippine aircraft on two separate occasions over the past week. The task force stated that on August 22, flares were launched from a Chinese militarized reclaimed island in Zamora Reef, within Pag-asa Island’s territorial sea. Zamora Reef is also known as Subi Reef or Zhubi Reef, while Pag-asa Island is also referred to as Thitu Island or Zhongye Island.
The NTF-WPS described these actions as unjustifiable since they occurred during routine patrols conducted by Philippine Coast Guard personnel monitoring foreign poachers. It further noted that a Chinese fighter jet fired flares at another aircraft near Scarborough Shoal on August 19 at an extremely close distance of approximately 15 meters.
The task force, which includes various departments and agencies such as Defense, Armed Forces, and Coast Guard reiterated its call for China to cease all provocative actions that threaten safety within Philippine territory and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). It emphasized that Beijing’s actions undermine regional peace and security while eroding its image with international communities.
U.S. Ambassador MaryKay Carlson expressed solidarity with the Philippines in condemning China’s launch of flares near Scarborough Shoal and Subi Reefs through her statement posted on social media platform X. She called on China to stop provocative actions undermining a #FreeAndOpenIndoPacific region. Similarly, Japanese Ambassador Endo Kazuya voiced opposition against any action increasing tensions or endangering lives while upholding rules-based order based on international law.
China has not issued any statement regarding these accusations so far.
These incidents follow several clashes between Beijing and Manila this month over disputed islands in which both sides blamed each other for collisions between their coast guard vessels.