MANILA/BEIJING (Reuters) -The&nbsp;Philippines&nbsp;on Friday condemned&nbsp;China's coast guard for "unprovoked&nbsp;acts&nbsp;of coercion and dangerous manoeuvres," including its use of a water cannon against one of its boats in an attempt to disrupt a&nbsp;resupply&nbsp;mission&nbsp;in the South&nbsp;China&nbsp;Sea.
China's actions, the&nbsp;Philippines&nbsp;said, have not only "put the lives of our people at risk," but have "put into question and significant doubt the sincerity of its calls for peaceful dialogue".
The regular&nbsp;resupply&nbsp;missions support the&nbsp;Philippines' troops stationed in an intentionally grounded dilapidated warship on Second Thomas Shoal, a hotly disputed atoll in the South&nbsp;China&nbsp;Sea that Manila calls Ayungin and is known as Renai Reef in&nbsp;China.
China&nbsp;claims almost the entire South&nbsp;China&nbsp;Sea, which includes the Second Thomas Shoal, and has deployed hundreds of vessels to patrol there, including what Manila refers to as "Chinese maritime militia", which it said were involved in the latest attempt to obstruct the&nbsp;resupply&nbsp;mission.
China's foreign ministry opposes actions that undermine&nbsp;China's sovereignty and interests and has lodged solemn representations with the Philippine embassy, its spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Friday at a regular press conference.
China's coast guard said two small Philippine transport ships and three coast guard ships entered the waters without the permission&nbsp;of the Chinese government and urged the&nbsp;Philippines&nbsp;to stop infringing on Beijing's sovereignty.
It said in a statement its actions were lawful and it has and made temporary special arrangements for the Philippine side to transport food and other necessary daily necessities.
The&nbsp;Philippines' government said the&nbsp;resupply&nbsp;mission&nbsp;was completed, even as its boats were "subjected to extremely reckless and dangerous harassment at close proximity" by the Chinese coast guard's inflatable boats inside the shoal.
For years, Manila and Beijing have been embroiled in on-off confrontations at the Second Thomas Shoal as&nbsp;China&nbsp;has become more assertive in pressing its maritime claims, alarming rival claimants and other states operating in the South&nbsp;China&nbsp;Sea, including the United States and Japan.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said during his visit to Manila on Saturday that his country, the&nbsp;Philippines&nbsp;and the United States were cooperating to protect the freedom of the South&nbsp;China&nbsp;Sea.
On Thursday, the&nbsp;Philippines&nbsp;said it was acquiring five 97-metre (318.24-ft) multi-role response vessels to strengthen the capabilities of its coast guard and the 29.3 billion pesos ($523.96 million) project would be funded by Official Development Assistance loans from Japan.
Both Japan and Washington have their support behind a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, that said Beijing's expansive claims had no legal basis, delivering a historic legal victory for the&nbsp;Philippines. Under the ruling, the shoal is inside the&nbsp;Philippines' exclusive economic zone.
China's use of water cannons followed a series of incidents in the South&nbsp;China&nbsp;Sea, including the collisions between&nbsp;China's vessels and two Manila ships on Oct. 22. The&nbsp;Philippines&nbsp;accused&nbsp;China&nbsp;coastguard of "intentionally" colliding with its vessels.
($1 = 55.9200 Philippine pesos)
(Reporting by Beijing newsroom, and Neil Jerome Morales in Manila; Writing by Bernard Orr; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Gerry Doyle and Christina Fincher)

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Philippines denounces China for 'unprovoked acts of coercion' to block resupply mission