A Chinese Navy helicopter flies within three meters of a surveillance flight over Bajo de Masinloc in the West Philippine Sea. Philippine Coast Guard

MANILA — Manila will file a formal diplomatic protest against the "dangerous" maneuvers by a Chinese Navy helicopter that flew within three meters of a surveillance flight over Bajo de Masinloc in the West Philippine Sea, an official said Wednesday.

The Philippine fisheries bureau's Cessna was carrying a group of journalists and observing Chinese vessels around the shoal when a People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) helicopter drew near the plane’s left wing. 

PLA Navy helicopter tails BFAR aircraft over Bajo de Masinloc

“This is a very dangerous flight maneuver. They came as close as 3 meters, basically 10 feet ang layo nitong helicopter doon sa wing ng eroplano,” coast guard spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said.

“You can just imaging yung propeller wash niya, itinutulak niya pababa yung kaliwang bahagi ng eroplano noong pumunta siya sa ibabaw nito,” he told TeleRadyo Serbisyo. 

He said the Philippine government would “keep on filing diplomatic protests” over the incident. 

“This is the right thing to do. This is a diplomatic procedure to tell China that we don’t agree sa ginagawa nilang escalatory action na ito and dangerous action that endangers the safety of our BFAR (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources) crew and coast guard personnel,” he said

Bajo de Masinloc, a triangular chain of reefs and rocks, has been a flashpoint between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. 

China claims the South China Sea almost in its entirety, including parts of the West Philippine Sea, despite an international ruling in 2016 concluding this has no legal basis.

Tarriela said Tuesday's incident was the first time a PLAN helicopter had been used against a Philippine patrol plane in such a manner.

Asked if the encounter marked an escalation, Tarriela said he believed China was taking a "calibrated approach" to such interactions, while reiterating President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s declaration that the country's mutual defense treaty with the United States could be invoked if a death were to result.

Tian Junli, spokesperson for China's Southern Theater Command and senior colonel of the Air Force, said the Philippine aircraft had "illegally intruded into Chinese airspace over Huangyan Island", using the Chinese name for the shoal.

He said naval and air units were deployed "to track, monitor, warn, and expel the aircraft in accordance with the law and regulations", adding that the "actions of the Philippine side seriously violated China's sovereignty".

Bajo de Masinloc has been the site of repeated confrontations as Manila has resupplied Filipino fishermen in the area. It lies 240 kilometers west of the Philippines' main island of Luzon and nearly 900 kilometers from Hainan, the nearest major Chinese land mass.

In December, the Philippines said the Chinese coast guard used a water cannon and "sideswiped" a government fisheries department vessel. Manila released a video appearing to show a Chinese coast guard ship directing a torrent of water at the BRP Datu Pagbuaya.

Other footage apparently taken from the Philippine ship showed its crew shouting "Collision! Collision!" as the much larger Chinese vessel nears its right-hand side before crashing into it.

China vessel blasts water cannon at Philippine ship in latest aggression

Manila and treaty ally Washington have deepened their defence cooperation since Marcos took office in 2022 and began pushing back against China's claims to the South China Sea.

The Philippines said in December it hoped to acquire the US Typhon missile system as part of a push to secure its maritime interests.

Presence of Typhon launcher in PH alarms China amid possible entry of more US defense systems – analyst

The mid-range missile system, deployed in 2024 for annual joint military exercises, has a range of 480 kilometers, although a longer-range version is in development.

China has warned that acquiring the system risks triggering an "arms race".

AFP tells China: PH not expansionist, only protecting territory, maritime domain