As tensions continue to rise in the hotly contested South China Sea, China has once cried foul that Manila is engaging in “provocative activities” and provoking Beijing while warning that the Philippines is overestimating its capability.
The Chinese Southern Theatre Command announced on February 21 that it monitored and expelled two C-208 aircraft and one N-22 aircraft belonging to the Philippines on February 20. The Command alleged that the aircraft had “illegally entered” the airspace near China’s Nansha Qingdao (also known as Spratly Island) on February 20.
The Chinese Southern Theatre Command also released an audio clip along with some visuals from the encounter. A Chinese pilot was ostensibly heard warning one of the Philippine aircraft that it was “posing a security threat to Chinese islands and reefs,” ordering it to “leave immediately to avoid misjudgments.”
Spratly Island is one of the many territories contested between the two countries in the South China Sea. The Philippines Coast Guard (PCG), on its part, retorted that the fisheries bureau had flown two aircraft over the Spratly Islands to “assert the Philippines’ sovereignty.” The planes “consistently challenged the illegal presence of Chinese maritime forces … (and) documented the unlawful activities conducted by the Chinese Coast Guard and Maritime Militia,” the Coast Guard said.
While Chinese activities against the Philippines and its allies, China has published a report in the state-owned Global Times, narrating its perspective and alleging that Manila is deliberately provoking the country to make China look like an aggressor.
Referring to the recent incident of sending BFAR planes to Nansha, a Chinese military expert was quoted by the Global Times as saying that was tantamount to committing a grave error.
“The Philippines has tactically overestimated its capabilities while underestimating China’s determination and ability to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights,” read the report published on February 21.
The latest incident continues a string of aggressive encounters between the two sides. The two countries have overlapping claims on multiple islands and shoals in the South China Sea. Beijing, for one, claims almost the entire sea and has territorial disputes with several other claimants in the region.
However, tensions between China and the Philippines (which is a key U.S. ally) have escalated dramatically in the last few years. On February 18, a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy Z-9 utility helicopter flew dangerously close—within 3 meters (10 feet)—of a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Cessna aircraft over the territorial waters of Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal).
China, however, has made contrasting claims about the incident. According to PLA Southern Theater Command spokesperson Senior Colonel Tian Junli, a Philippine C-208 aircraft unlawfully entered the Huangyan Dao (also called Scarborough Shoal), changed its flight altitude—descending 920 meters in 218 seconds—and purposefully flew through the flight level of China’s regular patrol helicopter at close range in a risky and unprofessional manner that could have triggered an unpredictable accident.
The spokesperson alleged that the Philippine side leveled false allegations against China by calling China’s actions “dangerous.” He claimed that Manila first provoked trouble, then distorted the truth, and then attempted to peddle its illegal claims.
Despite multiple videos of Chinese vessels and aircraft intimidating Filipino forces published on social media over the past few months, China maintains that Manila is the real troublemaker in the region. China has also refuted the 2016 ruling by the International Tribunal in Hague, which invalidated Beijing’s sweeping claims over the sea. It continues to aggressively push its claims and has built several artificial islands to assert them.
Amid mounting aggression by China and defiance shown by the Philippines, there is widespread concern that a miscalculation between China and the Philippines could trigger a region-wide war involving the United States, which has a Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) with the Philippines.
US Takes Over Tinian
Since 2023, the United States has been making concerted efforts to restore a World War-era military facility in Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands, Western Pacific. The aim is to have a facility that will enable the U.S. military to operate even if China attacks and disrupts the military facilities in Guam.
Both territories could be used as frontline launching pads if a conflict breaks out with China.
Tinian is positioned approximately 200 kilometers north of Guam and was previously reported to be undergoing a revitalization in accordance with the U.S. Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment strategy, which calls for dispersed operations.
The USAF’s 2024 budget request sought a budgetary allocation of US$78 million for several projects in Tinian. The projects included an airfield development initiative that involved demolishing World War II-era airfield pavements, clearing and leveling surfaces, and installing drainage, utilities, and secure fencing.
According to recent reports, almost 20 million square feet of runways and other World War II-era infrastructure at Tinian have been restored in the last year, as shown by satellite imagery published by Planet Labs. The images were reportedly taken between December 2023 and January 2025.
The images show the continued efforts to extend Tinian International Airport south of North Field (a World War II airfield on Tinian)—a divert airfield to facilitate U.S. military operations in the region.
Additionally, a massive new apron and taxiway are being constructed to the north of the airport’s current runway. The project includes additional infrastructure, such as new fuel storage facilities at Tinian’s main port at the southern end of the island.
The proposed apron size would likely accommodate up to 12 KC-135 and KC-46 tanker aircraft and the necessary fueling equipment.
General Kenneth Wilsbach of the U.S. Air Force previously stated that the airfield had a large amount of pavement concealed beneath an overgrown jungle. He also disclosed that the forest would be cleared between now and summer. The objective is to turn the site into a complete facility once it is finished, he stated.
Tinian was captured from Japanese control by U.S. forces in the summer of 1944, toward the end of World War II.
The northern expanse of the island hosted a substantial and historically momentous airfield, famously recognized as North Field. This airfield was vital to Operation Silverplate, the first operational use of nuclear weapons to date, as it was the departure point for two specially modified B-29 bombers on separate sorties.
In addition to these historic operations, North Field was the launchpad for many bomber and reconnaissance flights over Japan and the Western Pacific in the closing phases of the war. The U.S. Air Force is now intensifying its efforts to enhance the airfield’s capabilities to accommodate fighter jets, bombers, and significant support aircraft.
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