MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government said Tuesday that it had filed a diplomatic protest against Beijing after Chinese jets flew dangerously close and fired a volley of flares in the path of a Philippine air force patrol plane over a disputed shoal in the South China Sea. The Southern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army said Saturday that a Philippine air force aircraft “illegally” entered the airspace above the shoal, which China claims, disrupting its combat training activities. The command sent jets and ships to identify, track and drive away the Philippine aircraft, it added. In 2013, China announced a new Air Defense Identification Zone over the East China Sea that covers a chain of disputed islands also claimed by Japan. Washington has repeatedly warned that it is obligated to defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

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Persons: Romeo Brawner Jr, ” Brawner, Teresita Daza, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, ”, Jay Batongbacal, ” Batongbacal, Thomas Shoal Organizations: Philippine military’s, Scarborough, seaway, ” Department of Foreign Affairs, ”, China, Southern Theater Command, People’s Liberation Army, Philippine, U.S, Air Defense, East China, Institute for Maritime Affairs, Law, University of the, Washington Locations: MANILA, Philippines, Beijing, Philippine, South China, Manila, China, People’s Republic of China, United States, Australia, Canada, East, Japan, Washington, University of the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Scarborough, Asia