Beijing claims that a Philippine ship “intentionally” collided with its ship, but Manila rejects these allegations as “unfounded”.

China’s coast guard said it rescued Filipino “persons” who fell overboard when a Filipino ship collided with one of its vessels near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

However, the Philippines on Sunday dismissed China’s allegations as “completely unfounded” and said that a Chinese ship had rammed a Philippine ship.

The two countries have repeatedly clashed in these waters in recent months, and on Saturday Manila accused China of firing flares at one of its patrol aircraft twice recently.

China continues to insist on its claims to almost the entire South China Sea, ignoring the ruling of an international tribunal that its claims have no legal basis.

The Chinese coast guard said on Sunday that the Philippine ship “ignored repeated serious warnings and deliberately approached and rammed a Chinese police boat.”

The collision was said to have occurred near the disputed Sabina Reef, 140 kilometers west of the Philippine island of Palawan and about 1,200 kilometers from Hainan Island, the nearest Chinese landmass.

Chinese coast guard spokesman Gan Yu said the collision occurred when a Philippine ship refused to comply with “control measures” after attempting to deliver supplies to another vessel that was “illegally stationed” near the Xianbin Reef in the Nansha Islands, using the Chinese names for the Sabina Reef and the Spratly Islands, which are also claimed by Manila.

“China warns the Philippines to immediately stop its violations, otherwise the Philippines will bear all the consequences arising from this situation,” Gan said.

The Philippines said its ships encountered “aggressive and dangerous maneuvers” by the Chinese side while on a humanitarian mission to supply Filipino fishermen with diesel, food and medical supplies.

The Chinese ships “conducted dangerous close-quarters maneuvers that resulted in ramming, honking and the use of water cannons,” leading to the premature termination of the resupply operation after their ship suffered engine failure, a statement from the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea in Manila said.

“These unprofessional, aggressive and illegal actions posed a serious risk to the safety of the Filipino crew and the fishermen they were meant to serve,” the statement said, adding that no one was injured.

Footage released by the Philippine Coast Guard showed a Chinese ship approaching and ramming the left side of the ship.

Another clip showed a Chinese ship sailing parallel to the Filipino ship just a few meters away.

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, including areas claimed by the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Brunei. Beijing has deployed a fleet of ships to protect its claims.