Manila [Philippines], April 21 (ANI): A Philippines naval official on Monday refuted claims that the Chinese military had driven away a Philippine naval vessel, which, according to Beijing, had illegally intruded into the contested Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.

West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) that China's claim is just part of Beijing's 'malign information or shaping operations more likely intended for their internal audience.'

He added that only the Philippine Navy and the country's maritime law enforcement vessels have the authority to challenge foreign ships intruding into the country's maritine zones, the news outlet said.

A spokesperson for the Chinese military's Southern Theater Command on Sunday had said that it had organized navy vessels to track, monitor, issue warnings, and drive away the Philippine vessel, which it identifid as the Apolinario Mabini corvette, that had 'entered the territorial waters of Huangyan Dao without authorization from the Chinese government.'

Chinese military spokesperson Senior Captain Zhao Zhiwei said in a statement that the actions by the Philippine side 'severely violated China's sovereignty and contravened both Chinese law and relevant provisions of international law,' Xinhua reported.

The Scarborough Shoal is an atoll located some 125 nautical miles (about 230 kilometers) west of the Philippine island of Luzon and has been disputed by the two countries for decades. Although Manila claims it as part of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the uninhabited feature is effectively controlled by Beijing, which has maintained a constant coast guard presence there since 2012.

Under the 'nine-dash line,' Beijing maintains a claim to some 90 per cent of the resource-rich South China Sea, overlapping with the claims of Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Chinese and Philippine vessels have engaged in multiple collisions and face-offs over the past year as tensions elevated around hotspot areas of contention, CNN reported.

In March, China conducted a patrol in the South China Sea, deploying two long-range H-6 bombers around the shoal ahead of US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's visit to the Philippines. Also coiniciding with the US Defence Secretary's visit the United States, Japan and the Philippines held naval drills in the South China Sea.

The Scarborough Shoal is known as the Panatag Shoal in the Philippines and is known as the and Huangyan Dao in Chinese) . (ANI)