FLARES OVER PANGANIBAN: CHINA FIRES ON PCG AIRCRAFT, AND A RETIRED JUSTICE WANTS THE NEXT LEGAL FIGHT TO START NOW

On March 20, a Philippine Coast Guard Cessna Caravan was on a routine Maritime Domain Awareness flight over the Kalayaan Island Group when Chinese forces at Mischief Reef — Panganiban Reef — fired flares at the aircraft and issued repeated radio challenges asserting "indisputable sovereignty" over the area.

On board were PCG Spokesperson RADM Jay Tarriela, Kalayaan local officials, and journalists.

"This is dangerous on our part because we cannot really expect how far the flares can reach the aircraft," Tarriela said to reporters in Palawan afterward.

WHAT THEY FLEW OVER

The Cessna did not just pass over empty water. During the same flight, the crew spotted approximately 30 Chinese maritime militia vessels near Escoda (Sabina) Shoal. They also flew over Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, where the BRP Sierra Madre remains grounded as a Philippine military outpost.

Mischief Reef itself sits about 120 nautical miles from the coast of Palawan — well within the Philippines' 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone. It is more than 600 nautical miles from mainland China.

The 2016 Arbitral Tribunal, which ruled in the Philippines' favor, classified it as a low-tide elevation — meaning it is submerged at high tide and legally cannot generate its own maritime zones under international law.

FROM STILTS TO AIRSTRIP

China first occupied Mischief Reef in 1994–1995. A Filipino naval patrol discovered the newly built facility — an octagonal structure raised on stilts, flying a Chinese flag — and Beijing told Manila it was simply a shelter for fishermen.

That shelter now has a 3,000-meter airstrip capable of landing any Chinese military aircraft, radar systems, anti-aircraft guns, hangars, and port facilities capable of servicing naval ships. More than 5 square kilometers of permanent land was created through reclamation.

"It is worth noting that China first illegally occupied Panganiban Reef, initially claiming they were only building a shelter for fishermen," Tarriela said. "Today, it stands as one of the largest Chinese military installations in the entire South China Sea."

CHINA'S RESPONSE

The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not dispute the flares. Instead, Deputy Spokesperson Guo Wei accused the PCG of "stirring up trouble" and said Tarriela was using "the old trick" of bringing journalists on patrol flights to manufacture confrontation.

China's Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Jiang Bin made the same charge, saying the PCG was "playing up the victim's narrative" — his word, not this report's.

Guo Wei added: "The videos and photos he releases to generate media hype cannot alter the fundamental fact that China has sovereignty over the relevant islands, reefs, and their adjacent waters." And separately: "Sovereignty is never decided by geographical proximity."

The Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs, for its part, formally rejected China's assertion of sovereignty over the entire South China Sea on March 16, four days before the flare incident. DFA spokesperson Rogelio Villanueva said: "Maritime and territorial claims are subject to established international legal procedures and dispute settlement mechanisms, not through unilateral proclamations or social media posts."

THE RADAR LOCK — A SECOND INCIDENT

The flare story broke the same day as a separate, more alarming disclosure.

The Philippine Navy announced on March 20 that a PLA Navy Type 056A-class corvette, the Guang'an (bow number 622), had locked its Type 347 fire-control radar onto BRP Miguel Malvar (FFG-6) during a sovereignty patrol near Escoda (Sabina) Shoal on March 7 — thirteen days earlier.

A fire-control radar is used to accurately target weapon systems. Activating it against another vessel signals an immediate targeting posture. Navy spokesperson RADM Roy Vincent Trinidad described it as "alarming and provocative" and said it "significantly raises the risk of miscalculation and unintended escalation."

The incident lasted approximately three minutes. BRP Miguel Malvar detected the radar through its electronic support measures system and responded by issuing radio challenges to the Chinese ship. The Chinese vessel did not fire.

China's Ministry of National Defense denied the account and called it "a completely fabricated story." The Chinese Embassy described the allegation as "pure fiction."

The Philippines has said it is considering filing a diplomatic protest. As of March 22, no formal protest had been announced.

CARPIO'S PUSH — AND THE GOVERNMENT'S NON-ANSWER

Retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio has been pushing the government to do more than issue protests.

Carpio wants the Philippines to file a new arbitration case against China — this time over fishing rights at Scarborough Shoal, environmental damage at the shoal, and interference with Philippine fishermen.

He has also been highlighting an 1875 Spanish-era map that labels Scarborough Shoal as Bajo de Masinloc and places it within the province of Zambales. Carpio argues the map is historical evidence that the shoal formed part of Philippine territory before the 1898 Treaty of Paris.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has not publicly committed to a new case. The government has continued to rely on diplomatic protests, maritime patrols, military modernization, and alliances with the United States, Japan, and Australia.

The flares over Panganiban Reef, the radar lock near Escoda Shoal, and the growing Chinese maritime militia presence show what that policy is up against.

China is no longer simply contesting Philippine claims with words. It is using military facilities built inside the Philippine EEZ to challenge Philippine aircraft and warships operating near them.