CHINA on Monday blamed the water cannon incident on the Philippine government's continued defiance of an earlier understanding to ban the delivery of construction materials to the derelict Navy ship in the Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

Speaking at a forum in Quezon City, Zhou Zhiyong, deputy chief of mission of the Chinese Embassy in Manila, said the agreement on the nature of the resupply missions to Ayungin, which China calls Ren'ai Reef, was reached at the end of 2021 following 'several rounds of discussions in order to manage the disputes.' The BRP Sierra Madre serves as a station for a small detachment of Philippine troops.