Chinese helicopter harasses Philippine government aircraft over the South China Sea

A Chinese navy helicopter flew within 10 feet of a Philippine patrol plane in a disputed area of the South China Sea on Tuesday. It was a risky and harassing maneuver like others seen in recent years in these waters, over which China claims sovereignty.

According to AP reports, the Chinese helicopter was attempting to force a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources aircraft, a Cessna Caravan, to leave what China considers its airspace over the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the northwestern Philippines.

Flying in the Philippine aircraft were a group of international journalists who witnessed the Chinese military helicopter maneuver. They were invited by the Philippine government to accompany authorities on a routine low-altitude patrol around Scarborough.

The AP claims that the Philippine Cessna pilot warned the Chinese helicopter on several occasions of the danger of its maneuvers. "You are flying too close, you are too dangerous," the pilot exclaimed over the radio according to reports from reporters on board. "Move away and get your planes away from us, you are violating the safety standard set by the FAA and ICAO."

This is not the first time such an episode has occurred. The Philippine Coast Guard and Bureau of Fisheries said in a statement that they remain "committed to asserting our sovereignty, sovereign rights and maritime jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea, despite China's aggressive and escalating actions," referring to the Philippine name for the strip of South China Sea waters closest to the Philippines' west coast.

The Chinese military, referring to Scarborough Shoal by its Chinese name, said the aircraft had "illegally entered the airspace of China's Huangyan Island without the permission of the Chinese government."

On other occasions, Chinese ships have gone so far as to harass other Philippine vessels sailing in the disputed waters  with passive aggressive maneuvers. The region is seen by Beijing as key to its maritime expansion in the Pacific.

This ocean has become in recent years the main stage for geopolitical tensions pitting China and the United States against each other.