Amid tensions, Philippines demands China to halt actions in South China Sea

With escalating maritime confrontations between Manila and Beijing, the Philippines has demanded China to "cease all provocative and dangerous actions" after it recently accused it of firing at an aircraft conducting patrols over the South China Sea, Al Jazeera reported.

The same aircraft also "faced harassment" from a Chinese jet fighter while on a surveillance flight near Scarborough Shoal on August 19, the Philippines's South China Sea Task Force said in a statement on Saturday.

The escalation in the South China Sea raises concerns of a conflict that could draw in the United States, a military ally of the Philippines.