Jonathan Malaya (left), the Philippines national security council assistant director general, Antonio Carpio (centre), a former Supreme Court justice and Jay Tarriela, the Philippine Coast Guard spokesman, talk to reporters about the incident -

The Philippines and China have accused each other of dangerous provocation after a collision between two coast guard vessels in disputed waters of the South China Sea.

The ramming incident, which happened near the Sabina Shoal in the early hours of Monday, is the latest flare-up in a months-long stand-off between the nations over contested areas of one of the world’s most critical waterways.

Beijing launched the first salvo in the blame game, publishing grainy footage of the maritime crash and accusing the Philippine vessel of ignoring repeated warnings before it “deliberately collided” with the Chinese ship in an “unprofessional and dangerous” manner.

Manila immediately countered China’s “version of facts” with its own report that two of its vessels, the BRP Bagacay and the BRP Cape Engano, had faced “unlawful and aggressive manoeuvres” from Chinese ships while en route to supply Filipino personnel on two nearby islands.

The Chinese action had caused structural damage to both Philippine ships, including a five-inch hole on the deck of the Cape Engano, said Jonathan Malaya, a spokesman for the national security council and Manila’s South China Sea task force.

The Philippines coast guard released photographs of the aftermath of the confrontation, which it said was “the biggest structural damage” it had experienced at the hands of the Chinese coast guard to date.

The clash is likely to set back recent efforts to quell ongoing tensions between Manila and Beijing which has laid vast claims to the South China Sea despite not having the legal basis to do so.

Sabina Shoal, which lies 86 miles west of the Philippine island of Palawan, is a maritime feature of the Spratlys archipelago, which is also claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. The islands lie more than 808 miles from China’s Hainan.

Following the collision, Gan Yu, the China coast guard spokesman, said the Filipino vessels had “illegally intruded” into Chinese waters and “violated the temporary arrangements between China and the Philippines”.

In July, the two countries said they had reached a “provisional agreement” over resupply missions to Filipino sailors stationed on another flashpoint, the nearby Second Thomas Shoal.

Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, including both shoals, rejecting a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that expansive Chinese claims had no basis under international law.

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