A US military-contracted plane crashed in a rice field in southern Philippines on Thursday, killing all four people on board, as confirmed by officials.

MANILA: A small plane crashed on a farm in the southern Philippines on Thursday, killing four people on board, authorities said. Police said they had not yet determined the cause of the crash of the fixed-wing aircraft near the farming municipality of Ampatuan on Mindanao island.

Earlier, Chinese naval vessels attracted Manila’s ire as they crossed Basilan Strait on the way to distant-sea training exercise.

China has conducted military patrols in the South China Sea while the Philippines was holding joint naval drills with the U.S., Japan and Australia, saying Manila is undermining Beijing's claims in the region.

Three Chinese Navy warships sailed through Philippine territory as tensions escalated over the South China Sea. The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) vessels reportedly violated maritime protocols as they entered Philippine archipelagic waters without proper identification,