Philippines says China shot flares near its aircraft from a 'militarized' island as tensions continue to flare over the disputed South China Sea

• The Philippines said China has repeatedly fired flares at its aircraft over the South China Sea this week.
• It said that in one incident on August 19, a fighter jet fired flares just 15 meters from its aircraft.
• Tensions between the two countries have been on the rise in the region.

The Philippines said China has repeatedly fired flares at its aircraft over the South China Sea in the last week.

In one incident, a patrol aircraft of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources was threatened by flares from a Chinese island base as it carried out a "Maritime Domain Awareness Flight" on Thursday, according to a statement by the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea shared on X by Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela.

The plane had been flying near Subi Reef, a "militarized" island in the disputed Spratly Islands when it spotted the flares, the statement said.

A similar incident occurred on August 19, when a Chinese jet "engaged in irresponsible and dangerous maneuvers" and deployed flares "at a dangerously close distance of approximately 15 meters from the BFAR Grand Caravan aircraft," it continued.

"The Chinese fighter jet was not provoked, yet its actions demonstrated hazardous intent that jeopardized the safety of the personnel onboard the BFAR aircraft," the statement added.

It follows an agreement between China and the Philippines in July that aimed to reduce tensions over the Second Thomas Shoal, another reef in the Spratly Islands.

China claims sovereignty over the Second Thomas Shoal — and most of the South China Sea — but an international tribunal ruled in 2016 that Beijing's claims to waters within its "nine-dash line" had no legal basis.

The Philippines asserted its claim to the reef in 1999 when it deliberately grounded the BRP Sierra Madre ship there.

Since then, the reef has repeatedly been a flash point in the countries' relations, and it has been at the center of a series of increasingly intense clashes between the pair.

In May, the International Crisis Group said that "relations between the two countries in the maritime domain have never been as volatile as during the last seven months."

In early July, Beijing anchored the world's largest coastguard ship in Manila's exclusive economic zone, which Tarriela called "an intimidation on the part of the China Coast Guard."