'Dangerous flying': Chinese navy helicopter came within three metres of patrol plane

A Chinese navy helicopter has flown within three metres of a Philippine patrol plane in a disputed area of the South China Sea, prompting the Filipino pilot to warn by radio: "You are flying too close, you are very dangerous."

The Chinese helicopter was attempting to force a Cessna Caravan turboprop plane belonging to the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources out of what China claims is its airspace over the hotly disputed Scarborough Shoal off the north-western Philippines.

The incident is the latest flashpoint in a decades-long territorial standoff in one of the world's busiest trade route.

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In the most recent, the Australian government revealed a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft was conducting a routine surveillance patrol in the region last Tuesday when it was challenged by two Chinese J-16 fighter jets.

One of those fired a flare just 30 metres in front of the Australian aircraft.

It prompted the federal government to launch an official protest with China over the interception, describing it as unsafe and unprofessional.

An Associated Press journalist and other invited foreign media on the Philippine plane witnessed the tense 30-minute standoff on Tuesday as the aircraft pressed on with its low-altitude patrol around Scarborough with the Chinese navy helicopter hovering close above it or flying to its left in cloudy weather.

"You are flying too close, you are very dangerous and endangering the lives of our crew and passengers," the Philippine pilot told the Chinese navy helicopter by radio at one point.

"Keep away and distance your aircraft from us, you are violating the safety standard set by FAA and ICAO."

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The pilot was referring to the standard distance between aircraft required by the US Federal Aviation Administration and the International Civil Aviation Organisation to prevent air disasters.

There was no sign that the Philippine plane had to alter its planned path and altitude to avoid a collision.

The Philippine Coast Guard and the 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 the aggressive and escalatory actions of China".

They referred to the Philippine name for the stretch of waters in the South China Sea closer to the Philippines' western coast.

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

The Chinese Southern Theatre Command organised naval and air forces to track and warn the plane away, Senior Colonel Tian Junli, spokesperson for the command, said in a written statement posted online.

The Philippines "confused right and wrong and spread false narratives," the statement said.

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