Philippines, China trade accusations after vessels collide in South China Sea

BEIJING/MANILA (Reuters) -- The Philippines and China accused each other on Monday of ramming vessels and performing dangerous maneuvers in the South China Sea, the latest flare-up after the two nations had agreed to try to ease tensions and manage disagreements at sea.

China's Coast Guard said in a statement a Philippine vessel which had ignored its repeated warnings "deliberately collided" with a Chinese vessel in an "unprofessional and dangerous" manner in the disputed waterway early on Monday.

The Philippines disputed Beijing's account, saying two of its coast guard vessels "encountered unlawful and aggressive manoeuvres" from Chinese vessels near Sabina Shoal while on their way to supply Filipino personnel stationed in two occupied islands.

"These dangerous manoeuvres resulted in collisions, causing structural damage to both PCG (Philippine Coast Guard) vessels," said Jonathan Malaya, a spokesperson for the national security council and Manila's South China Sea task force.

Manila said coast guard vessels Cape Engano and Bagacay were on their way to resupply personnel stationed in Flat Island which Manila calls Patag and Lawak Island and which China calls Nanshan, when the at-sea confrontation happened near Sabina Shoal. A collision occurred between Cape Engano and a Chinese coast guard ship at around 3:24 a.m. on Monday (1924 GMT on Sunday), Manila said.

Around 16 minutes later, the Philippine coast guard ship Bagacay "was rammed twice" by a Chinese coast guard vessel, which resulted to "minor structural damage", Manila added.

The Chinese coast guard posted a short video of the incident which showed the collision with what it said was one of their vessels.

China's maritime security said the same Philippine vessel involved