In the latest dispute over this waterway, China and the Philippines both accused the other of dangerous maneuvers on a disputed shoal.

The Philippine Coast Guard reported that a Chinese coast guard vessel had accelerated and performed manoeuvres on Monday in order to block a Philippine vessel's navigation route around 36 nautical mile off Scarborough Shoal.

The CCG was found to have violated international maritime safety regulations.

China's Coast Guard said that the Philippine vessel had "dangerously" approached its ship and crossed it route, claiming that it was trying to stage a fake collision.

Xinhua reported that "They approached the normal sailing coastguard ship of China in a dangerous way, threatening both the safety and personnel of China."

In the last two decades, tensions have risen between China and Philippines in the South China Sea, particularly in Scarborough Shoal. This is a fishing area that both claim as their own.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea. This is a vital waterway that facilitates more than $3 trillion in annual shipborne commerce. Brunei and other countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Vietnam also claim parts of the South China Sea.

The Philippine Coast Guard sent a plane to confront a Chinese research vessel that it claimed was operating in the waters of its northern region near Taiwan without authorization.

The Chinese research vessel Zhong Sha Da Xue, spotted 78 nautical mile off the northern island of Batanes and failed to respond to radio communications by the Philippine Coast Guard Islander aircraft.

The coast guard reported that "PCG aviators highlighted on their radio challenge the fact that the said Chinese ship lacks the authority conduct marine scientific research in the exclusive economic zones of the Philippines." (Reporting and editing by Andrew Heavens, Bernadette and Bernadettebaum; Beijing Newsroom and Mikhail Flores)

(source: Reuters)