A China Coast Guard ship unleashed its water cannon at one of three vessels of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) anchored off Pag-asa Island on Sunday and rammed the safe craft, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said.

The Chinese vessel, with bow number 21599, ''fired its water cannon directly at the BRP Datu Pagbuaya, hitting the vessel''.

''Just three minutes later, at 9:18 a.m., the same CCG vessel deliberately rammed the stern of the BRP Datu Pagbuaya, causing minor structural damage but no injuries to the crew,'' it added.

The three BFAR vessels, including the BRP Datu Pagbuaya, were anchored in the territorial waters of Pag-asa Island to provide protection for Filipino fishermen as they faced the China Coast Guard (CCG) and Chinese Maritime Militia vessels, the PCG said.

The Global Times, a Chinese English language newspaper said the China Coast Guard ''expelled Philippine vessels that had illegally intruded into adjacent waters of Tiexian Jiao (Sandy Cay) of China's Nansha Qundao (Spratly Islands) in the South China Sea, with the Philippine side responsible for a collision between a CCG vessel and a Philippine government vessel.''

The PCG and BFAR ''reaffirmed their strong commitment to protecting Filipino fishermen in the Kalayaan Island Group, vowing to remain undeterred despite aggressive harassment and direct threats from Chinese vessels in the territorial waters of Pag-asa Island.''

The Chinese ships approached the Philippine ships around 8:15 pm '' approached dangerously close, activating their water cannons as a clear threat against the BFAR vessels. The situation escalated at approximately 9:15 am, the PCG said.

The United States ''condemns China;s aggressive actions in defiance of international law and supports the Philippines in pursuit of a Free and Open Indo Pacific,'' said Ambassador MaryKay Carlson in a post at X.

The Philippine government said it will take the most appropriate action on the incident. DMS