MANILA — The Philippine military on Monday called on Beijing to stop its "dangerous and offensive" actions in the West Philippine Sea, after a Chinese ship allegedly shadowed and tried to block a Philippine Navy vessel during a resupply mission.

The Chinese vessel came as close as 350 yards when it attempted to cross in front of the Philippine Navy vessel near Pag-asa Island on Friday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said.

The Philippine Navy issued a radio challenge to the Chinese military vessel. Its response cited the "10-dash line", an extended version of Beijing's nine-dash line that it uses to stake its claims over nearly the entire South China Sea, including parts of Philippine waters, AFP spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar told ABS-CBN News.

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"These dangerous and offensive maneuvers by China's PLAN (People's Liberation Army Navy) not only risk collision but also directly endanger the lives of maritime personnel from both sides," AFP chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said in a statement.

AFP Western Command chief Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos said China "must immediately halt these unsafe actions and conduct themselves in a professional manner by adhering to international law."

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Earlier this month, China also shadowed and blocked Philippine vessels on a mission to resupply troops stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal. During the incident, a PLAN vessel came just half a nautical mile close to the resupply team.

"They've been doing that already, not just to our Coast Guard, but also to our fishing vessels, and this time, to our naval vessel. But our response always is to make sure that we don't start anything that will result in something we do not want to happen. We have rules on how to engage them. Field commanders have the decision to make at the tactical level," Aguilar said.

The National Security Council said the Philippines would continue to assert its sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea and undertake resupply missions, despite China's harassment.

"We will just continue to do with what we are doing, which is implement the 2016 arbitral award," said National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya in a televised briefing.

"So patuloy lang ang ating resupply whether it is in Ayungin shoal, Rizal Reef, kahit may harassment hindi na galing sa Chinese Coast Guard but coming from the PLA Navy. Hindi matatakot ang ating mga Navy personnel, we will continue to do what is necessary to supply our people and our fishermen na nangingisda sa karagatan sa West Philippine Sea," he added.

Malaya said the Philippines would continue to enforce international and domestic laws over Pag-asa island, following reports that the area was being "subjected to Chinese law enforcement."

In September, the AFP said it suspected China of harvesting corals in Rozul Reef, before dumping the "processed" coral reefs in some parts of the West Philippine Sea. China denied involvement and told the Philippines to "stop creating a political drama from fiction."

A week after the incident, China put floating barriers in Scarborough Shoal, claiming that it did so after Philippine vessels intruded its waters.

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China has been asking the Philippines to remove BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal, claiming that the latter "promised" to tow it away. The Philippines denied making such a promise.

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China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea -- through which trillions of dollars in trade pass annually -- despite an international court ruling that Beijing's entitlement has no legal basis.

Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei also have overlapping claims in parts of the sea, while the United States sends naval vessels through it to assert freedom of navigation in international waters.

— With a report from Agence France-Presse; Pia Gutierrez, ABS-CBN News

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