China Says It Warned Off Three Philippine Aircraft Over Scarborough Shoal

China's PLA Southern Theater Command said on August 21, 2026 that its naval and air forces tracked, monitored and issued verbal warnings to three small Philippine government aircraft — identified as an Islander, a Cessna C-208, and a PA-31T — after they 'illegally intruded' into airspace over Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Dao) without Beijing's approval. A PLA spokesperson said the flights 'seriously violate China's sovereignty, and are highly likely to cause misunderstanding and miscalculation,' and 'sternly warned the Philippine side to stop rights-violation and provocative acts immediately.' The Philippine embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The incident follows weeks of Chinese and US sparring over Beijing's 'nature reserve' designation at Scarborough Shoal and comes as China's Foreign Ministry continues to reject the Philippines' July UN filing on territorial baselines around the shoal as 'illegal, null and void.'