The Philippine Coast Guard on Friday protested what it said were attempts by the Chinese Coast Guard to block a mission by four ships to resupply Philippine troops on a disputed South China Sea atoll, saying it led to a near-miss.

Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson, Jay Tarriela, said during the incident on Wednesday, one of the Chinese Coast Guard vessel came within one meter of a Philippines vessel, "which forced the commanding officer to stop its engines and to reverse its engines."

The atoll in the area is known as Ayungin in the Philippines, while China calls it the Renai Reef. A small number of Philippine troops live on board the old navy transport ship, the BRP Sierra Madre, which the Philippines grounded on the shoal in 1999 to reinforce its sovereignty claim.

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China Coast Guard said in a post on its website that the Philippines ships "intruded into the adjacent waters of Renai Reef...without permission" and that it issued stern warnings and firmly opposed the transport of materials to the ship.

Tarriela also added that a Chinese navy vessel came close to a distance of 800 meters to a Philippine Coast Guard vessel during their Wednesday's mission.

The Philippines confirmed it had successfully resupplied its troops on the atoll on Wednesday.

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Production: Adrian Portugal, Lion Schellerer, Travis Teo