Monday, the Philippine Coast Guard accused a Chinese coastguard vessel of briefly blinding crew members aboard one of its vessels in the contested South China Sea with a "military-grade laser light."
The Chinese Coast Guard vessel repeatedly shined a "military-grade" green laser light at the Philippine vessel, "causing temporary blindness to her crew at the bridge" according to a statement.
The Chinese vessel also engaged in "dangerous maneuvers" by approaching the Philippine vessel to within 140 meters.
The incident occurred on February 6 approximately 20 kilometers from Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, where Philippine marines are stationed, according to a statement from the coast guard.
"The deliberate blocking of the Philippine government ships to deliver food and supplies to our military personnel ... is a blatant disregard for, and a clear violation of, Philippine sovereign rights in this part of the West Philippine Sea," the Philippine Coast Guard stated.
It was the latest in a series of maritime incidents between the Philippines and China, which claims sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea and has disregarded a finding by an international court that its claims are unfounded.
In order to avoid "miscommunication" in the region, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed in January to establish direct communication between their foreign ministries.
It is unknown whether the hotline was utilized in the most recent instance.
The incident occurred just days after the United States and the Philippines agreed to start joint patrols in the sea and reached an agreement granting US forces access to four additional military facilities in the Southeast Asian nation.
Last week, the Philippine patrol boat supported a "rotation and resupply mission" for the troops, who reside in a derelict navy ship to assert Manila's territorial claims.
The Philippines calls the waters immediately to its west the West Philippine Sea.
It is unknown whether the mission to resupply Second Thomas Shoal was successful. Typically, private vessels are employed to transport supplies, accompanied by the coast guard.
According to the coast guard, Chinese coast guard and maritime militia vessels also blocked the Philippines' garrisoned shoal in August to prevent government ships from reaching the troops.
This month's U.S.-Philippine agreement lifts the total number of Philippine sites accessible to U.S. forces to nine.
Longtime allies are attempting to offset China's military expansion in the region.
Additionally, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei have claims that overlap in sections of the South China Sea.
