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 While Vice Admiral Alexander Lopez gave no timeframe, a senior
Philippine air force official told Reuters the warnings had come in
the past three months.
China could be "testing the waters" to see if it can enforce an air
exclusion zone above the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea,
said the air force official, who declined to be identified.
Recent satellite images show China has made rapid progress in
reclaiming land around seven reefs it occupies in the Spratlys,
including building what appears to be an airstrip on one of the
artificial islands.
That has alarmed some countries in Southeast Asia and drawn
criticism from Washington.
"As we were conducting routine maritime air patrols and flying in
international airspace, our air force aircraft were challenged over
the radio," Lopez, commander of the Philippine Western Command, told
senators, adding the planes ignored the warnings.
 "The Chinese said our planes were in their military security area."
China deploys coastguard and naval vessels in the Spratlys, but
rarely planes because of the distance from mainland China.
China drew condemnation from Japan and the United States when it
imposed an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ), in which aircraft
are supposed to identify themselves to Chinese authorities, above
the East China Sea in late 2013.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that China
had every right to set up ADIZs if it so wished, but that the
situation in the South China Sea was stable at present and that
China and Southeast Asian countries want peace there.
"Under these conditions, I think that individuals hyping up an ADIZ,
that China possibly wants to set one up in the South China Sea, this
obviously has ulterior motives," she said.
Last month, a Chinese warship challenged a Philippine maritime
patrol plane near Subi Reef, asking the low-flying aircraft to leave
China's territory, said military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Harold
Cabunoc.
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The U.S. military commander for Asia, Admiral Samuel Locklear, said
last month that China could eventually deploy radar and missile
systems on its outposts that could be used to enforce an exclusion
zone should it move to declare one.
Beijing claims most of the potentially energy-rich South China Sea,
through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The
Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have
overlapping claims.
China has denied accusations its actions are provocative. It
recently accused the Philippines, Vietnam and others of carrying out
illegal building work in the South China Sea.
Lopez said China had expanded the seven reefs it occupies from a few
thousand square meters to up to 11 hectares (27 acres) in artificial
islands, including two areas close to the Philippine-held Thitu
island, also known as Pagasa, and Second Thomas Shoal.
The United States and other countries would be welcome to use
civilian facilities China is building in the Spratlys for search and
rescue and weather forecasting "when conditions are right", China's
navy chief told a senior U.S. officer recently.
(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Dean
Yates and Mike Collett-White)
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