The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) disputed a statement by its Chinese counterpart that it expelled a C-208 aircraft from Scarborough Shoal on Thursday, saying that the patrols by the PCG and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources were ''legitimate.''

In a statement by Commodore Jay Tarriela, the PCG spokesperson for West Philippine Sea, he said ''the PCG vessels and BFAR aircraft left the BDM (Bajo de Masinloc) vicinity by our own decision after successfully providing supplies to the fishermen, rather than due to any expulsion by the Chinese Coast Guard.''

Le Dejun, spokesperson for the Chinese Coast Guard said the Philippine C-208 aircraft ''illegally intruded into China's airspace over Huangyan Island (Scarborough Shoal) without permission from the Chinese government.''

''China Coast Guard closely monitored the aircraft, warned it and expelled it, in accordance with law,'' said Le.

Tarriela emphasized that China '' has no jurisdiction over Bajo de Masinloc, which is classified as a rock under the 2016 Arbitral Award and Article 121 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.''

''The waters beyond the Bajo de Masinloc's 12-nautical mile territorial sea up to 200 nautical miles, fall within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone, measured from Luzon's baseline,'' he added. DMS