The Philippines fisheries bureau has accused China’s coastguard of firing water cannon and sideswiping a Filipino government vessel during a research voyage in the disputed South China Sea. The Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources condemned on Thursday what it said was the “aggressive interference” of the Chinese coastguard against the Datu Sanday and a second ship during the incident on Wednesday.

China and the Philippines traded accusations on Thursday following a confrontation between two of their vessels in contested waters of the South China Sea, the latest incident in a long-running maritime standoff in the strategic waterway.