A Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) surveillance flight over Bajo de Masinloc turned tense on Wednesday when a Chinese fighter jet intercepted and dangerously tailed the aircraft, according to a report by Inquirer.net.
PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela said their Cessna Caravan was conducting a maritime domain awareness mission when a People’s Liberation Army Navy Air Force J-15 appeared and shadowed it for roughly 20 minutes. The fighter reportedly shifted from left to right, sometimes flying directly overhead — at one point coming as close as 500 feet laterally and 200 feet vertically.
“The mere fact that the jet fighter was doing drastic maneuvering without following a safe path made it more dangerous,” Tarriela warned, noting this was the first fighter jet interception of a PCG flight this year, though past incidents involved Chinese helicopters.
During the same mission, the PCG also sighted four China Coast Guard vessels, two PLA Navy ships, six Chinese militia boats, and two U.S. Navy vessels near Zambales. Chinese ships issued multiple radio challenges, while a PLAN warship trailed the U.S. vessels. Beijing earlier claimed it had driven away the USS Higgins from the area — a claim Tarriela refuted, saying the U.S. ships were conducting lawful freedom of navigation operations.
The flight also aimed to check on a China Coast Guard vessel damaged in a recent collision with a Chinese navy ship. Tarriela confirmed the vessel was no longer in the area and reiterated that the Philippines supports safe navigation at sea. “This is a learning experience for the People’s Republic of China,” he stressed, urging Beijing to stop dangerous maneuvers to avoid miscalculation.
