Manila summoned a Chinese representative over the incidents, which happened in waters around Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands where the countries have contesting maritime claims.
A Philippine government task force said in a statement that "China Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia vessels harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers in another attempt to illegally impede or obstruct a routine resupply and rotation mission".
The China Coast Guard said it "took control measures" against Philippine ships' "illegal intrusion" in waters around the shoal.
The BRP Sindangan, along with a sister ship, had been deployed to support the military chartered Unaizah May 4 and Unaizah May 1 boats carrying replacement soldiers and supplies to Second Thomas Shoal, where Filipino troops are stationed on a grounded Philippine navy vessel, the BRP Sierra Madre.
Four crew on board the Unaizah May 4 were injured when two China Coast Guard ships simultaneously fired water cannon at it, shattering the windshield, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said in a statement.
It said a China Coast Guard vessel also caused a "minor collision" with the Unaizah May 4, which turned back to shore without delivering its cargo.
The Unaizah May 1 was able to unload its provisions, which the troops on the rusty BRP Sierra Madre depend on for their survival.
Earlier in the morning, the task force added, a China Coast Guard vessel caused a separate "minor collision" with one of the Philippine Coast Guard ships that was escorting the supply boats.
China Coast Guard spokesman Gan Yu accused the Philippine Coast Guard ship of "intentionally" ramming the Chinese boat, causing a "minor scrape".
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Beijing had expressed "strong protests" over the run-in with the Philippine vessels which were "attempting to transport construction supplies and building materials" to the Sierra Madre.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said it told Chinese embassy deputy chief of mission Zhou Zhiyong that the "aggressive actions" of the China Coast Guard and other vessels were "unacceptable".
It ordered the Chinese vessels to leave the vicinity of the reef "immediately", the department said in a statement.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, brushing aside competing claims from a host of Southeast Asian nations and an international ruling that has declared its stance baseless.
Second Thomas Shoal is about 200 kilometres (124 miles) from the western Philippine island of Palawan, and more than 1,000 kilometres from China's nearest major landmass, Hainan island.
- 'Stop harassing us' -
The incident comes a day after Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo called on China to "stop harassing us" as he defended Manila's strategy of publicising Chinese manoeuvres in the South China Sea.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos was similarly forthright when he appeared later Monday evening at an event hosted by an Australian think tank.
"We shall never surrender even a square inch of our territory and our maritime jurisdiction," he said on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Melbourne.
Tuesday's collisions and water cannoning came after similar incidents in December. Those confrontations were the most intense between Philippine and Chinese vessels in years.
Beijing is trying to "break our resolve, basically warn us that this will lead to further escalation," political science professor Renato de Castro of Manila's De La Salle University told AFP.
Relations between Manila and Beijing have frayed under Marcos, who has sought to improve ties with traditional ally Washington and deepen defence cooperation in the region, while also pushing back against Chinese actions in the South China Sea.
That contrasts with the approach of former president Rodrigo Duterte, who set aside maritime disputes with Beijing in exchange for promises of Chinese investment.
US ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson condemned China's "dangerous maneuvers" in a post on social media platform X, saying they "endangered lives, resulted in injuries, and damaged (Philippine Coast Guard) vessels".
Luc Veron, the EU envoy to Manila, said on X he was "troubled" by China's efforts to target "Philippine vessels engaged in crucial resupply missions".
Political analyst Richard Heydarian said the Chinese actions could lead "to a horrible accident or an extremely violent incident that could really escalate out of control in ways that is not only detrimental to the Philippines but also to the supposedly stronger party."
Maldives signs China defence deal as India prepares exit
Male, Maldives (AFP) March 5, 2024 -
The Maldives has signed a "military assistance" deal with China after ordering Indian troops deployed in the small but strategically-placed archipelago to leave, officials said Tuesday.
Some 89 Indian military personnel in the country will be gone by May 10 after having been previously ordered out by pro-China President Mohamed Muizzu, who came to power last year on an anti-Indian platform.
The Maldivian defence ministry said they signed an "agreement on China's provision of military assistance" with Beijing late Monday, saying the agreement was "gratis", or without payment or charge, but giving no further details.
The defence ministry said the deal was to foster "stronger bilateral ties", in a post on social media platform X.
India is suspicious of China's growing presence in the Indian Ocean and its influence in the Maldives, a chain of 1,192 tiny coral islands stretching around 800 kilometres (500 miles) across the equator, as well as in neighbouring Sri Lanka.
Both South Asian island nations are strategically placed halfway along key east-west international shipping routes.
Relations between Male and New Delhi have chilled since Muizzu won elections in September.
New Delhi considers the Indian Ocean archipelago to be within its sphere of influence, but the Maldives has shifted into the orbit of China -- its largest external creditor.
Muizzu, who visited Beijing in January where he signed a raft of infrastructure, energy, marine and agricultural deals, has previously denied seeking to redraw the regional balance by bringing in Chinese forces to replace Indian troops.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters Tuesday that Beijing was doing "its utmost to jointly build a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership" with the archipelago.
"Normal cooperation between China and the Maldives does not target any third party and does not undergo any interference by third parties," she added.
- 'Surveillance' -
India last week said it was bolstering its naval forces on its "strategically important" Lakshadweep islands, about 130 kilometres (80 miles) north of the Maldives.
The Indian naval unit based on the island of Minicoy will boost "operational surveillance" of the area, the navy said.
Addressing a public rally north of the capital on Monday, Muizzu vowed there would be no Indian troops on Maldivian soil after May 10, when they are expected to complete a withdrawal.
The Indians had been deployed to operate three reconnaissance aircraft New Delhi had gifted Male to patrol its vast maritime boundary.
India is expected to replace the military personnel with civilian staff to operate the aircraft, and the Maldives defence ministry announced last month that Indian civilian crew had begun arriving in the atoll nation.
Last month, Male allowed a controversial Chinese research ship to enter its waters in a sign of the nation's diplomatic reorientation towards Beijing and away from its traditional benefactor India.
China's Xiang Yang Hong 3 arrived in Male after being refused permission to dock by Sri Lanka following objections from India, which has labelled it a spy ship.
China also gave 12 electric ambulances to the Maldives on Sunday, the health ministry said.
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