Chinese fighter 'intercepts' Philippine plane over disputed shoal, Manila says

A Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy helicopter is seen from aboard a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) aircraft in the skies above Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on Feb 18. - Photo: AFP-JIJI file

OVER THE SCARBOROUGH SHOAL, South China Sea: A Chinese jet fighter "intercepted" a Philippine aircraft carrying journalists during a patrol flight over the Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday (Aug 13), the Manila government said, days after two Chinese vessels collided in the area while allegedly trying to block a Philippine supply mission.

A Reuters journalist aboard the Philippine Coast Guard flight watched as the Chinese fighter closed in on the small Cessna Caravan turboprop.