Update | Ships collide as Vietnam tries to stop China oil rig deployment in disputed waters

Tensions in the South China Sea flared up yesterday as China exchanged harsh rhetoric with the Philippines and Vietnam after confrontations in the waters.

Hanoi said its vessels collided with Chinese ships near waters off the Paracel Islands, where a Chinese oil company is establishing a rig. And in the Spratly Islands, a Chinese fishing boat was apprehended by Philippine maritime police.

The three countries have had increasingly tense disputes over areas of the South China Sea. The Chinese foreign ministry rebuked both nations for disturbing the "normal operations" of vessels in Chinese waters.

Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said the movements in the Paracel Islands were "within China's sovereignty and not related to Vietnam".

Hanoi said the drilling was illegal and sent patrol vessels to the area, resulting in at least three collisions with Chinese boats since Beijing said it was drilling on Saturday.

The deputy commander of Vietnam's maritime police, Ngo Ngoc Thu, said the Chinese "actively used water cannon to attack Vietnamese law enforcement vessels".