The Philippines will continue to patrol “in its own waters,” the country’s foreign ministry said today after Beijing accused Manila of trying to “deliberately” provoke an incident in the South China Sea.

“Normal patrols in our waters can be neither deliberate nor provocative,” said Teresita Dasha, a Philippine foreign ministry spokeswoman, adding that Manila “has exercised a legal right that it will continue to exercise.”

Beijing has previously accused Manila of a “deliberate” attempt to cause an incident in the disputed waters of the South China Sea after it managed to avoid a collision between a Chinese coast guard vessel and a Philippine ship.

The incident occurred on Sunday, a day after Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang’s visit to Manila aimed at reducing tensions between the two countries over the disputed waters.

A Chinese Coast Guard vessel blocked the path of a Philippine vessel that was twice the size of the Chinese one by bringing them within 45 meters of each other, narrowly avoiding a collision, the Philippine Navy said. An AFP team on another Philippine ship, after being invited to participate in patrols in the area, witnessed the incident.

“By entering the waters of the Renai Reef and taking on board the journalists, the Philippine vessel committed a deliberate provocation and deliberately sought conflict in order to provoke media attention,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said. reef known in the Philippines as Ayungin.

China claims to be the first to discover and name islands in the South China Sea, a vast area through which much of the trade between Asia and the rest of the world now passes.

Beijing claims most of the small islands and reefs located there, but other countries – the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei – also have claims to the area and each control several islands.

Since being elected President of the Philippines last June, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has vowed not to let China violate his country’s rights. To do this, he seeks to improve his relationship with the United States, a long-time ally of the Philippines, but cooled under the presidency of Rodrigo Duerte.

Sources: AFP, APE-MPE.