China, Philippines In South China Sea Confrontation

The Philippines on Thursday accused Chinese Coast Guard vessels of firing water cannon at boats delivering supplies to Filipino marines in the South China Sea, and ordered Beijing to "back off".

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China’s coast guard had upheld China’s sovereignty after the Philippine ships entered Chinese waters at night without permission.

"Currently, the area around the Second Thomas Shoal is generally peaceful, and China and the Philippines are maintaining communication on this," Zhao said.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin said he had expressed "outrage, condemnation and protest" to Beijing over the incident, which he said happened on Tuesday as the Philippine boats were travelling to Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands.

"Fortunately, no one was hurt; but our boats had to abort their resupply mission," Locsin said in a statement on Twitter, describing the three Chinese vessels' actions as "illegal". (AP/AFP)