A guided missile destroyer and a littoral combat ship of the United States Navy conducted patrol over Scarborough Shoal days after the collision of two Chinese vessels which tried to ram a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship deployed to provide relief assistance to Filipino fishermen in the area.

PCG spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, Commodore Jay Tarriela announced the presence of the two US Naval ships in the vicinity waters of Scarborough Shoal in a press conference on Wednesday.

Tarriela said based on the maritime domain awareness flight conducted by the PCG aircraft on Wednesday morning, the two US Navy ships were identified as Aegis guided missile destroyer USS Higgins and littoral combat ship USS Cincinnati.

"Around 8:20 a.m., when the PCG Caravan monitored the presence of two US Navy ships, DDG-76 (USS Higgins) and LCS-20 (USS Cincinnati), at a distance of 102 nautical miles from Zambales. It is also estimated to have an approximate distance of 30 nautical miles away from Bajo de Masinloc," he said.

"(People Liberation Army) PLA Navy warship, 568, trailed the two US Navy vessels in the area," he added.

A China navy spokesperson said USS Higgins ''illegally entered'' Huangyan Island (the Chinese name for Scarborough Shoal.

Senior Colonel He Tiecheng, spokesperson for the Southern Theater Command Navy of China, the "USS Higgins illegally entered China's Huangyan Island (Scarborough Shoal) territorial waters without the approval of the Chinese government".

"The People's Liberation Army Southern Theater Command Navy organized its forces to track, monitor, warn and expel the destroyer in accordance with laws and regulations. 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," he said.

"The Southern Theater Command Navy remains on high alert at all times, resolutely defending national sovereignty, security, and regional peace and stability," he added.

Tarriela said "based on the statement provided by the US government, these two US naval vessels are conducting freedom of navigation and overflight patrol."

"These US Navy ships were exercising navigational rights and freedoms in the West Philippine Sea near Bajo de Masinloc (BDM), in accordance with international law. This freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) challenges the restrictions on innocent passage imposed by China," he said.

Tarriela said the damaged China Coast Guard (CCG) ship 3104 and PLA-N 164 were no longer seen within the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc while the presence of four other CCG vessels with bow numbers 5303, 4202, 3502, and 5306 were monitored.

"While they were conducting MDA (Maritime Domain Awareness) flight they experience having been intercepted by a Chinese fighter jet J15 fighter jet approximately it came close as near as 500 feet and for 20 minutes, it conducted dangerous maneuvers with such distance, and even above the coast guard aircraft at an approximate height of 200 feet above the coast guard aircraft," he said.

"At the same time they were subjected to radio challenge of the PLAN 553 and our Coast Guard pilot responded accordingly. The PLAN warship was challenging the MDA flight being conducted by the PCG," he added.

Tarriela said the PCG aircraft was able to successfully complete its MDA mission and return to Manila around 10 am of the same day. Robina Asido/DMS