China’s military said it drove away three Philippines aircraft “illegally” flying over the disputed Spratly Islands, marking the second aerial incident this week involving Beijing and Manila in the South China Sea.
A spokesperson for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Southern Theatre Command, Air Force Colonel Tian Junli, said the military had chased away two small Cessna 208 planes and a light N-22 aircraft on Thursday.
The Southern Theatre Command said Manila’s aircraft had acted provocatively in a bid to assert the Philippines’ “illegal claims” over the small archipelago, according to Chinese state media.
“The Philippines has disregarded the facts and repeatedly stigmatised, hyped and smeared China’s legitimate and lawful rights-protection actions,” the Southern Theatre Command added.