The United States condemns the ''dangerous maneuvers'' of a Chinese military helicopter against a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) plane patrolling over the Scarborough Shoal.

"We condemn the dangerous maneuvers by a (People's Liberation Army) PLA Navy helicopter that endangered pilots and passengers on a Philippine air mission," US Ambassador to the Philippines Marykay Carlson posted on her X (twitter) account on Wednesday.

"We call on China to refrain from coercive actions and settle its disputes peacefully in accordance with international law," she added.

In a statement, the National Maritime Council (NMC) noted that "the Philippine government is deeply disturbed by the unprofessional and reckless flight maneuvers of a PLA-Navy Harbin Z-9 helicopter with tail number 68 that flew and hovered as close as three meters above a BFAR Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX aircraft conducting a routine maritime domain awareness flight over Bajo de Masinloc" on Tuesday.

"This blatantly hazardous action endangered the safety of the pilots and passengers onboard. It demonstrated a lack of regard for internationally-accepted norms on good airmanship and flight safety," it stated.

The NMC said that "the Philippine government will also issue a formal diplomatic protest on this grave incident."

However it assures that "China's illegal, coercive and aggressive behavior will not deter the Philippines from continuing the conduct of its routine maritime operations in accordance with its sovereignty over the shoal, and will not waver in its duty to safeguard its maritime interests over the shoal, in accordance with Republic Act 12064 or the Philippine Maritime Zones Act and international law, particularly UNCLOS and the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award". Robina Asido/DMS