Over the contested waters of the South China Sea on September 7, Chinese military forces stationed at Subi and Mischief Reefs fired flares at an unarmed Philippine Coast Guard aircraft conducting routine surveillance — a gesture that carries the weight of a warning shot without the legal cover of one. The Philippines, which has grown steadily more resolute in asserting its maritime claims, condemned the act as a violation of international aviation law and a reckless endangerment of human life. In a region where reefs have been transformed into military installations and fishing boats serve as