Following the revelation by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) that a Philippine aircraft was hit by flares from China, a civic leader said Chinese authorities cannot use intimidation to decide where the Philippines may lawfully operate.

On Tuesday, AFP spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Ret. Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, disclosed that a J-10 trainer plane intercepted a Philippine maritime domain awareness (MDA) flight of the Philippine Coast Guard over Panatag Shoal on 2 September.

“Regular maritime air patrol domain awareness flights were conducted over Bajo de Masinloc. They were intercepted by fighter aircraft from the PLA Air Force or the PLA Navy. In one instance, the crosshairs (gunsights) of the fighter aircraft had our aircraft on it, and this was released in the South China Morning Post and the Global Times, addressing the internal audience,” he said in a press briefing.

With this, civic leader Dr. Jose Antonio Goitia, who opposes China’s latest aggression, described it as dangerous and reckless and yet another attempt to intimidate the Philippines and disrupt lawful maritime operations.

“A flare burns out in seconds. Our rights do not. The Philippines must continue its patrols. We cannot allow threats to decide where Filipinos can lawfully operate. For Filipino fishermen, the West Philippine Sea is not a distant geopolitical dispute. It is where they work and earn a living.

The Coast Guard personnel conducting these missions are doing their duty. Intimidation should not drive them away,” he said.

“We do not want war, but we will not be bullied into abandoning what is ours,” Goitia said.

On September 5, 2026, Chinese marine scientific research vessel Haiyang Dizhi 12 Hao was detected approximately 186.68 nautical miles west-northwest of Bolinao, Pangasinan, in the Luzon Sea.

This was the first observed detection of the vessel in the vicinity of the waters of the Luzon Sea.

The vessel had previously been detected on 27 August, approximately 60 nautical miles west by north of El Nido, Palawan, and about 21 nautical miles east by north of the Malampaya natural gas field.

Haiyang Dizhi 12 Hao is capable of extended offshore geological and geophysical survey operations, including the collection and analysis of seabed and subsurface geological data.

The vessel is assessed as a “spy ship” mapping the Luzon Sea for undersea warfare preparation.

Its movements warrant close monitoring, particularly as it operates around waters of strategic importance to the Philippines.

The accompanying maps show its 27 August position near Malampaya, its 5 September position in the Luzon Sea, and the distance of its operations from Sanya, China.

The 2016 arbitral ruling found Mischief Reef to be a low-tide elevation incapable of appropriation and within the Philippines’ EEZ and continental shelf. It also found China’s construction activities there violated Philippine sovereign rights under UNCLOS.

China’s construction does not change that legal reality. Neither does intimidation.

The Philippines does not seek confrontation. But peace cannot mean retreat.

“We will remain peaceful, but we will not be intimidated. Our sovereignty demands courage, not retreat. The flare will burn out. Philippine patrols will continue. The Philippines will stand its ground,” according to Goitia, chairman emeritus of Alyansa ng Bantay sa Kapayapaan at Demokrasya, People's Alliance for Democracy and Reforms, Liga Independencia Pilipinas, and the Filipinos Do Not Yield Movement.