Chinese military plane crashes; pilot safely ejects.

A Chinese naval fighter jet crashed on Saturday during a training exercise, but the pilot evacuated safely, according to the military.

The Chinese military’s Southern Theater Command fighter plane crashed in an open region in the southern island province of Hainan, according to a naval statement on social media.

The southern command is responsible for some of the country’s most sensitive locations, including the South China Sea, where there have been a number of deadly skirmishes between Chinese and Philippine warships in recent years over disputed reefs and islands.

“The pilot successfully ejected, and no collateral damage was caused on the ground,” according to the statement.

An inquiry into the reason of the collision has been initiated, and the navy is preparing to deal with the repercussions, it said.

China has long pushed to increase its presence in disputed marine regions, ignoring an international finding that its claim to the majority of the waterway has a legal foundation.

In recent months, Beijing has strengthened its territorial claims in the South China Sea, while Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines are defending their own rights.

Last month, the Philippine Coast Guard protested “dangerous” movements by a Chinese Navy helicopter that it said flew within yards of a surveillance flight carrying journalists over the disputed Scarborough Shoal.