Chinese coast guard vessels backed by navy ships fired powerful water cannons and blocked and sideswiped a Philippine patrol vessel on Wednesday in renewed aggression at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea,

Chinese coast guard vessels, backed by navy ships, have fired powerful water cannons and blocked and sideswiped a Philippine patrol vessel in renewed aggression in a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, brushing off rival claims from other countries – including the Philippines – and an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis

The Philippines accused the China Coast Guard of firing water cannons and “sideswiping” a Philippine government vessel on 4 December during a maritime patrol near the disputed Scarborough Shoal, escalating regional tensions.

Chinese Coast Guard vessels made "aggressive actions" against a Philippine patrol boat during a routine maritime patrol near Scarborough Shoal (Bajo de Masinloc) early Wednesday, December 4, ramming the vessel and dousing it with water cannons twice.

China has blocked four Philippine vessels that attempted to “intrude into the territorial waters” of the disputed Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday, the country’s coastguard said.

A Chinese coastguard fired a water cannon at a PCG vessel, said a PCG spokesman. Read more at straitstimes.com.

China's Coast Guard said on Tuesday that four Philippine ships had attempted to enter China's territorial waters around a disputed shoal in the South China Sea. Liu Dejun, a coast guard spokesperson,

Chinese warships and Coast Guard cutters fired water cannons and collided with a Philippines maritime patrol in disputed waters on Wednesday, marking the latest skirmish between the countries in the South China Sea.