The incident occurred near the Scarborough Shoal, an area fiercely contested between China and the Philippines. The Chinese helicopter was trying to intercept a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources aircraft and pressure it to leave the airspace claimed by China.
The incident is the latest flashpoint in a decades-long territorial standoff in one of the world’s busiest trade route.
According to the Chinese military, the Philippines’ plane had violated what China regards as its airspace over the Huangyan Island, also known as Scarborough Shoal, without authorization from the Chinese government.
The Chinese Southern Theatre Command mobilized naval and air units to monitor the plane’s movements and issue warnings to steer it clear of the area, stated Senior Colonel Tian Junli, a spokesperson for the command, in an online post.
The Philippines “confused right and wrong and spread false narratives,” the statement said.
