MANILA (Reuters) - The&nbsp;Philippines&nbsp;on Wednesday accused&nbsp;China's coast guard of harassment, obstruction and "dangerous manoeuvres" against its vessels, after another incident&nbsp;near&nbsp;a strategic feature of the South&nbsp;China&nbsp;Sea that has become a flashpoint between them.
Philippine coast guard boats were assisting a naval operation on June 30 when they were "constantly followed, harassed, and obstructed by the significantly larger Chinese coast guard vessels", Philippine coast guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela, said in a Tweet.
It took place&nbsp;near&nbsp;the Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged&nbsp;reef&nbsp;over which the&nbsp;Philippines&nbsp;stakes a claim to sovereignty via a handful of troops who live aboard a rusty World War Two-era American ship that was intentionally grounded in 1999.
China's embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment and the issue was not mentioned at a regular briefing on Wednesday by the foreign ministry in Beijing.
Tarriela said the vessels had to reduce speed to prevent a collision.
He not say what the naval operation entailed. The Philippine military conducts regular resupply missions for the troops on the U.S. ship, the Sierra Madre, including in February, when it accused&nbsp;China&nbsp;of aggression and directing a "military-grade laser" at of its vessels.
The shoal is located inside the&nbsp;Philippines' 200-mile exclusive economic zone. Tarriela described as "alarming" what he said was the presence of Chinese navy ships in the area, adding that raised "greater concerns".
China&nbsp;has previously said its coast guard were conducting regular operations in what are Chinese waters.
China&nbsp;claims sovereignty over almost the entire South&nbsp;China&nbsp;Sea via a "nine-dash line" on its maps that cuts into the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, the&nbsp;Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 said that line has no basis under international law.
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(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Martin Petty)

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