China's coast guard said the Philippines on Friday sent a civilian vessel to deliver provisions to its warship "illegally grounded" at Second Thomas Shoal, a disputed atoll in the South China Sea.

China has driven off two Philippine government ships that tried to "illegally land" on a disputed reef in the Sea on Friday, according to the country's coastguards. The ships "trespassed" into waters near Sandy Cay in the Spratly Islands to collect sand samples and had been "intercepted,

Two Philippine ships had to call off their scientific probe after Chinese vessels and a helicopter intercepted them near the Spratly archipelago, according to the Philippines' coast guard.