Watch: Chinese coastguard fires water cannon on Philippine research ship
The Philippines' fisheries bureau condemned what it said was an ' aggressive interference ' by the coastguard against the Datu Sanday and another vessel on Wednesday.
Video of the incident appears to show the Chinese coastguard sideswiping a much smaller Philippine ship.
The two Philippine vessels were conducting 'routine marine scientific research' in the barren white sandbars that lie between the Philippine-occupied Thitu Island and a Chinese-built island base called Subi Reef, according to Manila.
Officials said a Filipino scientific team was in Sandy Cay to collect sand samples from the sandbars.
A larger Chinese coastguard ship 'water cannoned and sideswiped' one of the vessels twice, 'resulting in some damage to the latter's port bow and smokestack, and putting at risk lives of its civilian personnel on board', the Filipino officials claimed. They said the incident 'occurred within the territorial sea of the Philippines'.
China's coastguard blamed the Philippines for the collision, saying the vessels entered the waters illegally without China's permission and landed personnel on Sandy Cay using the Chinese name Tiexian Reef for the sandbars.
It said the vessels ignored warnings from the Chinese side and came dangerously close to the Chinese ship, which it claimed was conducting normal law enforcement operations.
The coastguard landed on the reef to check on the activity, a statement said. It did not mention the use of water cannon.
The statement added: 'The Philippines' actions seriously violated China's territorial sovereignty ... and undermined peace and stability in the South China Sea.'
China has claimed that it has sovereignty rights over virtually the entire South China Sea and has vowed to defend its territories at all costs.
A 2016 ruling by an international arbitral tribunal found Beijing's sweeping claims had no basis under international law – a decision China rejects.
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