The Philippines on Monday accused China Coast Guard personnel of aggressively striking and wounding a Navy serviceman with a wooden baton in the South China Sea, escalating tensions before a meeting between the nations¡¯ top diplomats this week.

The Philippine military said a Navy personnel suffered serious head injury after an encounter on Monday with China Coast Guard in Second Thomas Shoal, where the Southeast Asian nation maintains a military outpost.

In response to the incident, the China Coast Guard issued a statement saying that the Philippines had distorted the facts. It urged Manila to stop what it called infringements, provocations and misinformation. It said personnel from the Philippine vessel deployed two rubber boats that ignored repeated warnings, approached and collided with a Chinese patrol boat, and used paddles and poles to attack Chinese officers. China responded with warnings and ¡°necessary countermeasures¡± to stabilize the situation, the statement said.

Monday¡¯s clash renews tensions around the disputed shoal, breaking a relative quiet in the area after the two nations forged a provisional agreement in 2024. Before that, a Filipino sailor lost his thumb after a skirmish with ax-wielding Chinese personnel.

The latest incident also ratchets up tensions ahead of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in the Philippine capital this week, where Beijing and Manila¡¯s top diplomats are expected to meet. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has previously criticized China¡¯s ¡°destabilizing¡± actions in the disputed sea, is also attending the meeting.

Based on the Philippine military¡¯s account, a Chinese Coast Guard rigid-hull inflatable boat with eight personnel ¡°unlawfully approached within close range¡± of the outpost and took photos and videos. Two rubber boats from the Philippine military attempted to drive the Chinese boat away.

The Chinese personnel ¡°reacted violently and aggressively¡± by striking the Filipino crewman with a wooden baton, also causing damage to the Navy¡¯s rubber boat, the Philippine military said.

A video released by the Philippine military showed a white vessel ramming a smaller black boat. Personnel from the bigger vessel were seen striking the other crew with what appears to be white poles. The crew in the smaller vessel appeared to strike back using their oars, before sailing away.

¡°This latest act of aggression against personnel performing their lawful duties is unacceptable and serves only to heighten tensions and increase the risk of dangerous miscalculation at sea,¡± the Philippine task force on disputed waters said in a separate statement.

¡°We call on the China Coast Guard to immediately cease dangerous and unlawful actions that threaten lives and undermine peace and stability,¡± it said.