Philippine fishing boats claimed they were harassed by China, labelling the incident as a "blatant disregard" of a regulation preventing collisions at sea.

Chinese coast guard ships and a Chinese navy helicopter harassed a group of Philippine fisheries vessels conducting a scientific survey in a hotly disputed area of the South China Sea, forcing them to cancel the operation,

The Philippines said on Saturday it has suspended a scientific survey in the South China Sea after two of its fisheries vessels faced "harassment" and aggressive behaviour from China's coast guard and navy.

The Philippine coast guard says Chinese coast guard ships and a Chinese navy helicopter harassed a group of Philippine fisheries vessels conducting a scientific survey in a hotly disputed area of the South China Sea,

As Jakarta deepens military and coastguard cooperation while rejecting Beijing's sweeping claims, can it maintain a precarious equilibrium? Indonesia is walking a fine line between bolstering ties with Beijing and preserving its long-standing non-aligned stance.