Last March, a small airplane flying close to an artificial island built by China in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) was met by a flare fired by Chinese authorities as a warning for "intruding" into Chinese territory. Such hostile action by China was "nothing new for an ambitious regional power," according to international relations and defense analyst Joshua Bernard Espeña, a resident fellow of the think tank International Development and Security Cooperation.

Dela Peña, K. (2023, May 5). 'We're not backing down': PH message to China gets louder. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A4.