China has used "aggressive and illegal force" ; to hinder the Philippines' supply mission in the South China Sea, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said, quoted by "Reuters".
According to him, last week's maritime incident in which a sailor was injured was neither a misunderstanding nor an accident.
"We are not downplaying the incident," he stressed, after the chairman of the Philippine Maritime Council said last week that the maritime collision was likely a misunderstanding or an accident.
A Filipino sailor was seriously injured on June 17 after a "intentional high-speed ram" by the Chinese Coast Guard aimed at disrupting the resupply mission to Philippine troops stationed at Second Thomas Shoal.
Chinese coast guard officers, carrying knives and spears, "deliberately breached" the Philippine boats involved in the mission, the Philippine military said.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry disputed the Philippines' claim. Last Thursday, the agency assured that the necessary measures taken by the coast guard were legal and professional.
"We view the latest incident in Ayungin (Second Thomas Shoal - n.b.) not as a misunderstanding or an accident. "This is a deliberate act by the Chinese authorities to prevent us from fulfilling our mission," Teodoro said.
"This was an aggressive and illegal use of force. However, we continue to find peaceful solutions to this problem," he added.
Teodoro assured that the Philippines will continue to supply its troops stationed on an old warship anchored at the Second Thomas Shoal, but will not release a timetable for the missions as the country does not need permission or consent from anyone.
In response, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the Philippines "should stop its encroachments and provocations" and "to work with China to preserve peace and stability in the South China Sea".
In addition, Beijing urged Manila to stop "violations" and "misleading the international community".
President Ferdinand Marcos said yesterday that the Philippines does not engage in warmongering and will always seek to resolve disputes peacefully.
China has territorial claims to almost the entire South China Sea. This includes the Second Thomas Shoal, where the Philippines deployed the old warship "Sierra Madre" in 1999 to assert their claim to sovereignty. It has a small crew.
In January, Manila and Beijing agreed to improve maritime communication and properly manage conflicts and differences through friendly talks, especially on the situation around the Second Thomas Shoal.
A 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that China's historic claims to the resource-rich waterway have no legal basis. However, Beijing rejects this decision and points out that Philippine ships illegally invade the waters around the disputed shoals.