Manila: The Philippines condemned the "excessive and offensive actions" against its vessels on Sunday, accusing China's coast guard of obstructing and water-cannoning a Philippine military supply boat in the South China Sea.

While Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan, and the Philippines all have different claims to different parts of the South China Sea, China asserts sovereignty over nearly the entire region, a claim that is universally rejected.

Beijing frequently irritates its neighbours with actions at sea that they perceive as aggressive and with longer-term initiatives like constructing islands on reefs and arming them with runways and missiles.

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The chartered Philippine boat was on a routine troop rotation and resupply mission when it was blocked and water-cannoned by a Chinese coast guard vessel on Saturday. This was done "in wanton disregard of the safety of the people on board and in violation of international law," the Armed Forces of the Philippines said.

It claimed in a statement that the incident happened close to the Second Thomas Shoal, also known as Ayungin Shoal, a submerged reef where a small number of its soldiers reside on a rusty US ship from World War Two that was purposefully grounded in 1999.

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It claimed that the "dangerous manoeuvres" of the Chinese coast guard prevented a second boat from unloading the supplies and completing the mission. An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by the Chinese embassy in Manila.

In order to avoid mistakes and accidents that endanger people's lives, the armed forces urged the China Coast Guard and the Central Military Commission to act prudently and responsibly.

According to the Philippine Coast Guard, two international conventions and a ruling from a global tribunal were broken by the Chinese actions.
Beijing's broad claim to the South China Sea was found to be unfounded in 2016, according to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. China insists that it rejects any assertion or course of action based on the decision.

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According to Commodore Jay Tarriela, a spokesman for the Philippine Coast Guard, "the Philippine Coast Guard calls on the China Coast Guard to restrain its forces, respect the sovereign rights of the Philippines in its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, refrain from obstructing freedom of navigation, and take appropriate actions against the individuals involved in this unlawful incident."

The US State Department declared following the incident that China's "repeated threats to the status quo in the South China Sea (were) directly threatening regional peace and stability" and that Washington stands with its Philippine allies in the face of such "dangerous actions."

The United States reiterated that it would invoke its obligations under Article IV of the 1951 US Philippines Mutual Defence Treaty in the event of an armed attack on Philippine public ships, aircraft, and armed forces in the South China Sea, including those of its Coast Guard.