Beijing slams Philippines for 'provoking' South China Sea dispute while Manila says it 'seeks no conflict with any nation'

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Tensions between China and the Philippines have flared up in recent months as ships from both sides have clashed in the contested reefs

Chinese Coast Guard vessels fire water cannons towards a Philippine resupply vessel Unaizah May 4 on its way to a resupply mission at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. Reuters

China has blamed the Philippines for spurring tensions in the South China Sea just as the island nation's President Ferdinand Marcos said that his country would not be "cowed into silence" by Beijing.

Both countries have been engaged in maritime confrontations in the hotly contested South China Sea.

"The provocations by the Philippine side are the direct cause of the recent heating up of the South China Sea issue," Beijing's defence ministry said in a statement entitled "China Will Not Allow the Philippines to Act Wilfully".

Also read: India supports Philippines in upholding its national sovereignty: Jaishankar on South China Sea dispute

The Defence Ministry added, "Relying on the backing of external forces… the Philippine side has frequently infringed on rights and provoked and created trouble at sea, as well as spreading false information to mislead the international community's perception of the issue, which is, so to speak, going further and further down a dangerous road."

Philippines will not be 'cowed into silence'

In reply to Beijing's attacks, the Philippines President Marcos said, "We seek no conflict with any nation, more so nations that purport and claim to be our friends but we will not be cowed into silence, submission, or subservience."

He said the Philippines would respond with a "countermeasure package that is proportionate, deliberate, and reasonable in the face of the open, unabating, and illegal, coercive, aggressive, and dangerous attacks by agents of the China Coast Guard and the Chinese Maritime Militia".

What's going on in the South China Sea?

Tensions between China and the Philippines have flared up in recent months as ships from both sides have clashed in the contested reefs.

Both the Philippines and China have refused to back down with Manila saying that the most recent conflict is the most serious incident yet for the Philippines.

A recent incident took place near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands during a regular Philippine mission to resupply Filipino troops garrisoned on the BRP Sierra Madre, a grounded navy ship.

The Philippines said the China Coast Guard blocked its supply vessel and damaged it with water cannon, injuring three soldiers.

With inputs from AFP