Chinese navy performed "reckless" flight manoeuvres, flying too close to a government aircraft which was patrolling the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, the Philippines coast guard alleged.
Scarborough Shoal, also known as Huangyan Island in China and Panatag Shoal in the Philippines, is the largest atoll in the South China Sea, located inside the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines. However, China claims that the atoll has been its ancestral territory since the 13th century.
In recent times, Scarborough Shoal has been seeing large-scale naval drills by China in the wake of the ongoing territorial disputes with the Philippines.
According to news agency Reuters, the Philippines coast guard, in a statement said the Chinese Navy's "reckless action posed a serious risk to the safety of the pilots and passengers."
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The incident happened on Tuesday.
The government fisheries aircraft was reportedly conducting a maritime domain awareness flight over the Scarborough Shoal when the People's Liberation Army Navy helicopter flew nearly three metres close to it, in what the Philippines coast guard called a"clear violation and blatant disregard" for aviation regulations."
However, the Chinese side is yet to come out with a statement on the allegations.
A few weeks ago, US and Philippine fighter aircraft had conducted a joint patrol and training over the shoal.