Philippines, China accuse each other of dangerous moves in disputed South China Sea shoal

BEIJING/MANILA (Reuters) - China and the Philippines accused each other on Tuesday of dangerous manoeuvres in a hotly disputed shoal in the South China Sea, in the latest confrontation over the waterway.

A Chinese coast guard vessel sped up and manoeuvred on Monday to block the navigation route of a Philippine vessel around 36 nautical miles off the Scarborough shoal, the Philippine Coast Guard said.

"This incident highlights the CCG's non-compliance with the international regulations ... and reflects a blatant disregard for safety at sea," it said.

China's coast guard said the Philippine vessel "dangerously approached" its ship and crossed its route, alleging it attempted to stage a false collision, Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

"They illegally approached China’s normal sailing coast guard ship in a dangerous manner, threatening the safety of China’s personnel and ships," Xinhua reported.

Tensions between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea have escalated in the last two years, including in the Scarborough Shoal, a prime fishing patch claimed by both as their territory.

China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, a vital waterway for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce, parts of which are also claimed by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

The Philippine Coast Guard deployed a plane on Tuesday to challenge a Chinese research vessel which it said was operating without authority in its northern waters near Taiwan.

Chinese research vessel Zhong Shan Da Xue was spotted around 78 nautical miles off the northern island province of Batanes, and did not respond to attempts by the Philippine Coast Guard's Islander aircraft to establish radio communication.

"PCG aviators underscored on their radio challenge that the said Chinese vessel lacks the authority to conduct marine scientific research within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines," the coast guard said.

(Reporting by Mikhail Flores and Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Bernadette Baum)