China's coast guard has fired water cannon at Philippine ships near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, accusing Manila of an "illegal" intrusion and the ramming of one of its vessels.

The confrontation comes a week after China approved plans to turn the shoal into a national nature reserve, a move that defence analysts have warned would test Manila's response over the 150 sq km triangular chain of reefs and rocks.

The Philippine coast guard in turn accused its Chinese counterpart of harassing vessels it said were on a humanitarian mission to support fishermen.

Tuesday's encounter involved more than 10 Philippine ships, said Gan Yu, a spokesperson for China's Coast Guard, accusing the vessels of having "illegally invaded China's territorial waters of the Scarborough S

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