India, Oct. 14 -- The United States on Monday condemned China after Beijing and the Philippines traded accusations over a maritime confrontation close to disputed islands on the South China Sea.

In a statement, the US State Department said: "The United States condemns China's October 12 ramming and water cannoning of a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessel close to Thitu Island in the South China Sea."

The Department further said: "We stand with our Philippine allies as they confront China's dangerous actions which undermine regional stability."

The US said China's sweeping territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea and its increasingly coercive actions to advance them at the expense of its neighbours ...