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 stigmatized, hyped and smeared China’s legitimate and lawful rights-protection actions,” the Southern Theatre Command added, Al Jazeera reported.
The Philippines claims a northwest segment of the Spratly Islands, an archipelago of 100 islands and reefs, while China claims all of it.