The Philippines has released footage showing Chinese forces firing flares from a militarized artificial island toward a Philippine patrol aircraft on December 7, 2025, as the plane conducted surveillance over the contested Spratly Islands.

The incident highlights the escalating tensions in the South China Sea, where Beijing’s expansion of military infrastructure and aggressive tactics continue to challenge Manila’s sovereignty claims within its own exclusive economic zone.

The Incident

Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela reported that a joint Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and coast guard patrol flight over the Kalayaan Island Group recorded Chinese personnel firing three flares toward the aircraft during its “lawful overflight” of Subi Reef.

The Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft was conducting what Tarriela described as a “routine” maritime domain awareness flight “as part of its legitimate mandate to protect the country’s maritime jurisdiction and the livelihood of Filipino fishermen.”

Video footage captured one flare arcing past structures on the reef. The aircraft proceeded with its surveillance mission despite the flares.

A Chinese warship also issued radio challenges approximately 17 miles southeast of Sabina Shoal, another contentious feature in the dispute. Tarriela stressed the patrol aircraft was “flying well within Philippine sovereignty rights.”

Subi Reef: A Militarized Hub

Subi Reef is one of three reefs fully militarized by China inside the Philippine exclusive economic zone during Beijing’s artificial island-building campaign in the 2010s.

The Philippine surveillance flight observed significant Chinese naval and paramilitary presence at the reef:

• Two Chinese coast guard cutters
• One hospital ship
• 29 vessels from what analysts call the “Maritime Militia”

China has dismissed the “Maritime Militia” designation, insisting the vessels are crewed by patriotic fishermen. However, these ships are rarely seen engaging in fishing activities and frequently deploy to disputed waters for weeks at a time in what analysts describe as “gray-zone” operations to back Beijing’s territorial claims.

Dozens more Maritime Militia vessels were spotted at nearby Whitsun Reef and Pagkakaisa Banks during the same patrol.

The flight also documented Vietnamese activity, including a research vessel southwest of Sandy Cay and two fishing vessels plus a coast guard ship near Rurock Island.

Flares as Tactical Warnings

Chinese forces have previously fired flares from occupied islands and from aircraft as warnings for foreign planes to move away from what Beijing claims as its airspace in the disputed waters.

China asserts sovereignty over more than 80 percent of the South China Sea—a crucial global trade route also claimed in part by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan.

An international arbitral tribunal ruled in 2016 in favor of the Philippines and rejected China’s expansive South China Sea claims, but Beijing maintains the decision is invalid.

Escalating Gray-Zone Pressure

Tensions between Beijing and Manila have intensified in recent years as Chinese vessels establish blockades and use forceful tactics near features within the Philippines’ maritime zone—the area recognized under international law as falling within its exclusive economic rights.

These incidents have raised fears of an armed conflict triggered by miscalculation between two nations whose relationship is complicated by the Philippines’ treaty alliance with the United States.

Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said in October while responding to an earlier Philippine patrol: “The Chinese side will firmly safeguard our territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests with legitimate, legal, professional and prudent actions to protect our rights. We would never allow any provocation and trouble-making to work, nor would we leave any room for blackmailing the big by the small.”

Strategic Outlook

China is expected to continue expanding its military and paramilitary activities in the South China Sea, while Manila has pledged to keep challenging and publicizing such actions through transparency operations like the December 7 surveillance flight.

The Philippines is also strengthening military cooperation with the United States and other regional partners, including through joint patrols within its exclusive economic zone—moves Beijing has condemned as destabilizing.

Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Tarriela emphasized on social media: “While the nation is understandably focused on holding corrupt officials and contractors accountable in public works projects, the Philippine Coast Guard remains steadfast in fulfilling our patriotic duty: patrolling our waters and skies in the West Philippine Sea.”

Bottom Line

The flare incident at Subi Reef demonstrates Beijing’s willingness to use intimidation tactics against lawful Philippine operations within Manila’s own exclusive economic zone. With China maintaining dozens of Maritime Militia vessels at militarized artificial islands and the Philippines committed to documenting and challenging these activities, the South China Sea remains a high-risk flashpoint for miscalculation between a rising power and a US treaty ally.