A ship marked as the Chinese Coast Guard met them, five times larger than the commercial boats.

Several hours passed between the two sides.

After the Philippines coast guard cut China’s barriers in disputed waters last month, tensions remain high between Manila and Beijing.

In the Spratly Islands, Manila resupplies its outpost in the Second Thomas Shoal every month to bolster its economic rights.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea, including the Spratly Islands, which the Philippines also claims in part. On Wednesday, the second day of a three-day mission to the Second Thomas Shoal, the incident occurred. Due to an oncoming typhoon and the seasonal monsoon, the voyage was rough.

After dawn, the Filipinos were greeted by what appeared to be the Chinese Coast Guard and two blue militia vessels.

Two Philippine Coast Guard ships escorted Filipino commercial boats carrying supplies that would last approximately one month.

When the two countries’ ships encountered each other, the Chinese sent radio challenges asking the Filipinos to leave. To block the Philippine ships, the Chinese aligned themselves in a box shape.

Due to their small size, the two Filipino commercial ships were able to get past the blockade.

However, the two Philippine Coast Guard ships were too big to pass and at one point came within a few metres of the Chinese ships. Their crews took photos of each other because they were so close. There was also a Philippine military plane flying overhead.