A Philippine flutters on BRP Sierra Madre, a dilapidated Philippine Navy ship that has been aground since 1999, on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, part of the Spratly Islands, in the South China Sea.

The Philippines' defence chief said China used "aggressive and illegal force" to disrupt a resupply mission in the South China Sea and said last week's maritime incident, which injured a sailor, was neither a misunderstanding nor an accident.

"We are not downplaying the incident," Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro told a media briefing after the chairman of the Philippine maritime council said on Friday that last week's maritime clash was probably a misunderstanding or an accident.

A Philippine sailor suffered serious injury after what its military described as "intentional-high speed ramming" by the Chinese Coast Guard, aiming to disrupt a resupply mission for troops stationed on the Second Thomas Shoal on June 17.

Chinese Coast Guard personnel carrying knives and spears looted firearms and "deliberately punctured" Philippine boats involved in the mission, the Philippine military said.

China's foreign ministry has disputed the Philippines' account, with a spokesperson saying last Thursday that the necessary measures taken by the coast guard were lawful and professional.

"We see the latest incident in Ayungin not as a misunderstanding or an accident. It is a deliberate act of the Chinese officialdom to prevent us from completing our mission," Teodoro said, using the local name for the Second Thomas Shoal.

"It was an aggressive and illegal use of force. We, however, continue to find peaceful solutions to this issue," Teodoro said.

Teodoro said the Philippines will continue to resupply its troops stationed on a rusting warship grounded on Second Thomas Shoal, but it will not publicise schedules of missions, which he said do not require permission or consent from anyone.

In response to Teodoro's remarks, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday that the Philippines "should stop its infringement and provocation" and "work with China to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea".

It also urged Manila to stop "violations" and "misleading the international community."

President Ferdinand Marcos said on Sunday that the Philippines was not in the business of instigating wars and would always aim to settle disputes peacefully.

The Second Thomas Shoal is inside the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea with its so-called nine-dash line, which overlaps the exclusive economic zones of rival claimants Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

A 2016 arbitral tribunal ruling, which Beijing does not recognise, invalidated China's claim in the strategic waters.

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Philippines not in business of instigating wars, says President Marcos

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Sunday his country is not in the business of instigating wars and will always aim to settle disputes peacefully, amid escalating maritime confrontations with China.

"In defending the nation, we stay true to our Filipino nature that we would like to settle all these issues peacefully," Marcos said in a speech to troops of the Western Command unit in charge of overseeing the South China Sea.

Philippine navy personnel and the Chinese coast guard had their latest clash during a routine resupply mission by Manila in the South China Sea last week, in which it said a sailor was severely injured and vessels damaged.

China's Coast Guard personnel carrying knives and spears looted firearms and "deliberately punctured" Philippine boats involved in the mission, the Philippine military said.

China disputed the Philippine account, with a foreign ministry spokesperson saying on Thursday the necessary measures taken were lawful, professional and beyond reproach.

Marcos, who did not name China in his speech, commended the troops for exercising restraint "amidst intense provocation", and said his country would always exercise its freedoms and rights in line with international law.

"In the performance of our duties, we will not resort to the use of force or intimidation, or deliberately inflict injury or harm to anyone," Marcos said. "We stand firm. Our calm and peaceful disposition should not be mistaken for acquiescence."

Recent maritime run-ins between China and the Philippines, a U.S. treaty ally in Southeast Asia, have made the highly strategic South China Sea a potential flashpoint between Washington and Beijing.

The United States has condemned China's actions and reaffirmed its ironclad defence commitments against any attack on Philippine aircraft or vessels in the South China Sea under their mutual defence treaty.

But the Philippines said on Friday there was no reason to invoke the treaty because China's actions, which security officials have described as escalatory, could not be classified as an "armed attack".

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague said China's claims had no legal basis, a decision Beijing has rejected.

"We are not in the business to instigate wars - our great ambition is to provide a peaceful and prosperous life for every Filipino," Marcos said. "We refuse to play by the rules that force us to choose sides in a great power competition."

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Marcos says Philippines won't be intimidated amid China row

The June 17 clash was latest and most serious incident in a series of escalating confrontations between Chinese and Philippine ships in recent months.

President Ferdinand Marcos said Sunday the Philippines "will not be intimidated" by anyone after a violent clash between the Filipino navy and the Chinese coast guard in the South China Sea.

The confrontation took place Monday off Second Thomas Shoal as the Chinese sailors foiled an attempt by Philippine forces to resupply marines stationed on a derelict warship that was deliberately grounded atop the disputed shoal in 1999 to assert Manila's territorial claims.

It was the latest and most serious incident in a series of escalating confrontations between Chinese and Philippine ships in recent months as Beijing steps up efforts to push its claims to nearly all of the strategically located waterway.

"We will never be intimidated or oppressed by anyone," Marcos said in a speech during a visit to the headquarters of the Philippines' South China Sea forces on Palawan island, the closest major landmass to the shoal.

Marcos awarded medals to 80 sailors who took part in the resupply mission, urging them to "continue to fulfil your duty of defending the nation" even as he said the situation has become "dangerous".

Second Thomas Shoal lies about 200 kilometres (120 miles) from Palawan and more than 1,000 kilometres from China's nearest major landmass, Hainan island.

A Filipino sailor lost a thumb in the clash with Manila also accusing the Chinese coast guard sailors of wielding knives, sticks and an axe and stealing or damaging their equipment, including guns and inflatable boats.

Beijing insisted its coast guard behaved in a "professional and restrained" way and blamed Manila for the clash.

In previous confrontations Chinese forces have used water cannon and military-grade lasers and collided with Filipino resupply vessels and their escorts.

"We have never, never in the history of the Philippines, yielded to any foreign power," Marcos said to applause, while pledging to "continue to exercise our freedoms and rights in support of our national interest, in accordance with international law".

"Our calm and peaceful disposition should not be mistaken for acquiescence."

The confrontation is fuelling growing concern that the dispute could drag in the United States, which has a mutual defence pact with Manila.

The Philippine government said this week that it does not consider Monday’s clash as an "armed attack" that would trigger a provision in the treaty for Washington to come to Manila's aid.

However, Manila says it was also concerned Chinese forces would launch a similar attempt to dislodge a small Filipino military garrison on Second Thomas Shoal.

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