The Chinese Coast Guard has once again launched a water cannon attack against Philippine vessels in the South China Sea, just a day after a previous incident.

With the two countries clashing three times this week, tensions appear to have reached a boiling point.

The China Coast Guard announced through its official WeChat account on the 24th (local time) that it "lawfully cracked down on multiple Philippine vessels engaged in illegal activities today in the waters near Scarborough Shoal (known as Huangyan Island in China and Bajo de Masinloc in the Philippines)."

China draws a U-shaped "nine-dash line" in the South China Sea and claims sovereignty over approximately 90 percent of the area within it.

Scarborough Shoal is also included in this area.

On this day, the Philippine Coast Guard claimed that the Chinese Coast Guard attacked its own coast guard and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessels with water cannons.

In a statement, the Philippine Coast Guard strongly condemned what it called the dangerous and unprofessional actions of the Chinese Coast Guard.

This clash occurred just one day after a water cannon incident in the same waters the previous day.

The China Coast Guard stated on the 23rd that Philippine government vessels 3012 and 3018 entered the waters of Scarborough Shoal despite repeated dissuasion and warnings from China, and that it took necessary measures such as tracking, pressure, blocking, and control in accordance with the law to drive them away.

The Philippines explained that Chinese coast guard ships unleashed a water cannon attack on its vessels for more than two minutes.

The previous day's clash between the two sides occurred shortly after their foreign ministers met in Manila, Philippines—where the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Foreign Ministers' Meeting was being held—for the first time in two years, only to trade barbs over the South China Sea conflict before departing.

China and Philippines clashed fiercely on the 20th as well, marking three separate collisions in the South China Sea within a single week.

Four days ago, a physical confrontation broke out between the two countries at Second Thomas Shoal (known as Ayungin Shoal in the Philippines, Ren'ai Jiao in China, and Bai Co May in Vietnam). The Philippines claimed that eight Chinese coast guard personnel struck Filipino soldiers' heads with wooden clubs, while China countered by claiming that the Philippine side attacked first.