It also accused the vessel of “deliberately colliding” with a coastguard ship, causing a scratch on the hull. “The responsibility is all on the Philippines,” it said.
The Philippines rejected China’s account of events, raising “grave concern over the deliberate disinformation” and condemning its “latest unprovoked acts of coercion and dangerous manoeuvres against a legitimate and routine Philippine rotation and resupply mission”.
The National Task Force of the West Philippine Sea said it was on a routine resupply and rotation mission to the disputed shoal when their civilian supply vessels were subjected to reckless and dangerous harassment at close range by Chinese vessels.
It accused the China Coast Guard of firing water cannons at their vessels.
One vessel suffered serious engine damage, another had its mast damaged, while a third was rammed during the confrontation, the statement said.
The incident came a day after a similar event near the Scarborough Shoal – another South China Sea feature claimed by Beijing.The Chinese coastguard on Saturday also said it took “control measures” against three Philippine vessels, saying they had illegally “intruded” into waters near the Scarborough Shoal, occupied and claimed by China as Huangyan Island.
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Philippines sets up ‘game changer’ monitoring station on island in disputed South China Sea
Philippines sets up ‘game changer’ monitoring station on island in disputed South China Sea
The Philippines responded by saying it “vehemently” condemned the “illegal and aggressive” action against its regular supply ships. It said a boat’s communication and navigation equipment sustained “significant damage” while some Filipino crew experienced “severe temporary discomfort and incapacitation” after suspected use by the Chinese of a “long-range acoustic device”.
Tensions in the South China Sea have heightened in recent months, with the Scarborough Shoal a focal point, after the Philippines carried out a “special operation” to remove a floating barrier installed by China.
Confrontations also flared near the Second Thomas Shoal – a submerged reef that is part of the disputed Spratly Islands and claimed by multiple countries including China and the Philippines.
Known as Renai Reef in China and Ayungin Shoal in the Philippines, this feature lies about 190km (120 miles) from the island of Palawan, within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
Beijing has long upheld its “historical maritime rights” over about 90 per cent of the South China Sea under what it calls its “nine-dash line”, a claim rejected by several neighbours, including the Philippines.
In response to a case filed by the Philippines, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in 2016 against Beijing’s claims to the nine-dash line and said the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea “superseded any historic rights or other sovereign rights or jurisdiction in excess of the limits imposed therein”.
Beijing rejects the ruling as having “no binding force”.
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