In a statement, the US State Department said: "The United States condemns China’s October 12 ramming and water cannoning of a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessel close to Thitu Island in the South China Sea."

The Department further said: "We stand with our Philippine allies as they confront China’s dangerous actions which undermine regional stability."

The US said China’s sweeping territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea and its increasingly coercive actions to advance them at the expense of its neighbours continue to undermine regional stability and fly in the face of its prior commitments to resolve disputes peacefully.

"The United States reaffirms Article IV of the 1951 United States-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft – including those of its Coast Guard – anywhere in the South China Sea," the statement said.