The Philippines yesterday denounced China’s alleged assault of Vietnamese fishers in the South China Sea, where Manila and Beijing are also locked in violent confrontations that have led to fears of armed conflict.

Vietnam has accused “Chinese law enforcement forces” of beating the 10 fishers with iron bars and robbing them of thousands of dollars’ of fish and equipment on Sunday off the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島).

A Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson acknowledged an incident took place there, but disputed the Vietnamese version of the events.