The Philippine government on Monday accused Chinese ships of ramming and damaging its boats in the South China Sea during a confrontation in waters off the Second Thomas Shoal, home to a garrison of Filipino troops.

"The People's Liberation Army-Navy, China Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia vessels engaged in dangerous maneuvers, including ramming and towing," Manila's national task force on the West Philippine Sea said in a statement.

"Their actions put at risk the lives of our personnel and damaged our boats."

The Second Thomas Shoal has seen an escalating number of confrontations between Chinese and Philippine ships in recent months.

These have often taken place during Philippine resupply missions to a garrison of Filipino troops on a grounded navy vessel, the Sierra Madre, aimed at asserting Manila's claims to the reef.

The shoal lies about 200 kilometres (120 miles) from the western Philippine island of Palawan and more than 1,000 kilometres from China's nearest major landmass, Hainan island.

The Chinese coast guard said early Monday a Philippine resupply ship in the area had "ignored many solemn warnings from the Chinese side" and that they "took control measures" against it "in accordance with the law."

It "approached the... Chinese vessel in an unprofessional way, resulting in a collision", Beijing said.

Manila's Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro vowed that Chinese actions would be resisted by the Philippine military.

"We will exert our utmost in order to fulfill our sworn mandate to protect our territorial integrity, sovereignty, and sovereign rights," Teodoro said.

The Philippine government statement did not say which boats were rammed and the extent of the damage.