Philippines says China air force harassed its plane over disputed reef

Philippine military accuses China of dangerous actions in South China Sea, escalating tensions between the two countries.

The Philippine military on Saturday accused China's air force of "dangerous and provocative actions" against one of its planes patrolling over a disputed South China Sea reef.

Two China air force aircraft "executed a dangerous manoeuvre at around 9:00 a.m. and dropped flares in the path of our NC-212i," armed forces chief General Romeo Brawner said in a statement, recounting the alleged incident on Thursday "over" Scarborough Shoal.

He said the Chinese action "endangered the lives of our personnel undertaking maritime security operations," adding that the pilot and crew were unharmed and "safely returned" to a northern Philippines air base.

China defended its operations on Saturday, saying it had "organised naval and air forces to lawfully... (drive) away" the Philippine plane, following "repeated warnings", according to a statement by the Southern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army.

The statement did not say what specific actions China took, describing its operations as "professional, standard, legitimate and legal".

"We sternly warn the Philippines to immediately stop its infringement, provocation, distortion and hype," the statement said, adding that "China has indisputable sovereignty over Huangyan Island (Scarborough Shoal) and adjacent waters".

The incident is the latest in an increasingly tense confrontation between Manila and Beijing, which claims most of the South China Sea and seized the shoal after a 2012 standoff with the Philippines.