The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday said it is aware of the deployment of two American warships to a Philippine-claimed shoal off the South China Sea where two Chinese government ships collided two days ago while trying to drive away Filipino vessels in the disputed waters.

A DFA statement says a United Nations convention allows foreign vessels to transit the Scarborough Shoal despite being "a longstanding and integral part of Philippine territory."

"The DFA is aware of the FONOPS (Freedom of Navigation Operations) conducted by US warships in the vicinity waters of Bajo de Masinloc," it said, referring to the United States' term for freedom of navigation operations in the area, which is also being claimed by China.

"It should be pointed out that UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) provides certain rights and freedoms of transit ? such as innocent passage, freedom of navigation and archipelagic sea lanes passage ? in the Philippines’ archipelagic waters, territorial sea and exclusive economic zone," the DFA said.

"Notification is not required by the Philippines for foreign vessels to exercise these freedoms in Philippine maritime zones, in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 UNCLOS."

A spokesperson of the Southern Theater Command Navy of China said ''the US military's actions seriously violated China's sovereignty and security, seriously undermined peace and stability in the South China Sea, and violated international law and basic norms governing international relations.'' DMS