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Philippines Accuses PLA of Unsafe Close Encounter Over South China Sea

PLA
Courtesy PLA Southern Theater Command

Published Oct 5, 2026 5:47 PM by The Maritime Executive

The Philippine military says that a Chinese fighter made an unsafe close approach to a patrol aircraft near Scarborough Shoal, a contested reef west of Luzon in the South China Sea. 

According to the AFP, a Philippine C-208 light patrol aircraft was conducting a flight near Scarborough on Saturday when it was approached by two Chinese military aircraft. One of the Chinese planes, a J-16 jet fighter, approached repeatedly and moved in too close for safe operation, the AFP claimed - including maneuvers in front and in back of the Philippine plane. 

The C-208 is a small, unarmed prop plane used for maritime patrols in Philippine service. The Shenyang J-16 is a fourth-generation strike fighter derived from the design of the Soviet-era Su-27.  

"This incident is part of a recurring pattern of unsafe and coercive behavior against Philippine government vessels and aircraft conducting lawful operations," the AFP said in a statement. "The AFP will continue to conduct routine maritime and air patrols in the [western Philippine EEZ]."

The C-208 aircrew completed the mission and returned to base without incident, according to the AFP. 

China claims the vast majority of the South China Sea as its own - including a large swathe of the Philippine EEZ - under its historically-derived "Nine Dash Line" claim and its more recent, geographically-based "Four Sha" straight-baseline theory. It seized control of Scarborough Shoal from Philippine forces in 2012 and has held it ever since. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled in 2016 that these claims in the Philippine EEZ have no basis in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea; China refused to recognize the ruling and has continued to expand its presence in the region. 

In accordance with China's views on sovereignty in the South China Sea, China's military and state media have an alternative account of Saturday's aircraft encounter. In China's view, PLA aircraft took action to expel a Philippine aircraft that "illegally intruded into the territorial airspace over China's [Scarborough Shoal]," 600 miles southeast of the Chinese mainland.

"[Scarborough Shoal] is China's inherent territory. The acts by the Philippine side seriously violate China’s sovereignty and are highly likely to cause unintended maritime and air incidents. We sternly warn the Philippine side to stop rights-violation and provocative acts immediately," a spokesman for China's Southern Theater Command said in a strongly-worded statement on Monday. 

Video clips released by Chinese state media depicted the Philippine plane, but not the close approaches claimed by the AFP.