The latest dispute in the controversial waters follows China’s submission of nautical charts to the United Nations, drawing a baseline "territorial waters" around the prime fishing patch of the Scarborough Shoal, which is a major flashpoint between the two.

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,

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.