A Chinese military chopper performed ''reckless'' flight maneuvers towards a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) plane conducting maritime domain awareness (MDA) flight over the territorial airspace of Scarborough Shoal or Bajo De Masinloc on Tuesday morning.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela said a People's Liberation Army Navy (PLA-Navy) helicopter, identified by tail number 68, performed these maneuvers towards the BFAR aircraft around 8:39 am.

"This reckless action posed a serious risk to the safety of the pilots and passengers during the MDA flight," he said.

Tarriela said "the PLA-Navy helicopter came as close as three meters to the port side and above the BFAR aircraft, raising significant concerns regarding the PLA-Navy's clear violation and blatant disregard for the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) international aviation regulations."

"The PCG and BFAR remain committed to asserting our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and maritime jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea, despite the aggressive and escalatory actions of China," he said.

In a statement by Air Force Col. Tian Junli, spokesman of Southern Theater of Operations , ''a Philippine C-208 plane illegally intruded into China's airspace over Scarborough Shoal without the permission of the Chinese government.''

Tian said the Chinese People's Liberation Army ''organized naval and air forces to track, monitor and warn and drive away in accordance with laws and regulations.''

''The Philippine side's actions have seriously violated China's sovereignty and violated international law and relevant provisions of Chinese law,'' said Tian.

''Scarborough Shoal is China's inherent territory, and the Philippines' vain attempt to pursue its illegal sovereignty claim through military provocation and mislead the international perception with incitement and hype is doomed in vain,'' said Tian.

It can be recalled that in 2024, the Chinese aircraft harassed BFAR planes several times while conducting maritime patrol over the West Philippine Sea. Robina Asido/DMS