The Philippine government has condemned China for obstructive behavior, saying it used flares while a Philippine fisheries bureau aircraft was conducting routine patrols over contested areas of the South China Sea.

The Philippine National Security Council said in a statement on Saturday that a Chinese air force fighter jet deployed flares multiple times on Monday over the Scarborough Shoal. It said the Chinese jet came as close as 15 meters to the Philippine fisheries Cessna aircraft. Flares are heat-sources normally used to evade missiles.

The NSC released footage taken from a Philippine Coast Guard aircraft that was patrolling with the Cessna. The video showed what is believed to be a Chinese military aircraft spewing white smoke.

The NSC criticized China for jeopardizing the safety of the personnel in the patrol plane.

It said the same patrol aircraft was threatened again on Thursday by flares launched from China-occupied Subi Reef, a reclaimed artificial island. Manila urged China to "immediately cease all provocative and dangerous actions."

The Philippine government had earlier condemned China for an incident involving flares on August 8. The Chinese military hit back, saying the Philippine aircraft ignored repeated warnings and illegally intruded into China's airspace, disrupting its normal training activities.