China Coast Guard boats were seen blasting water cannons on Filipino fishermen.

Footage shows the Chinese vessel spraying the small boat with water to keep them out of the disputed territory in Bajo de Masinloc.

Another video showed several China Coast Guard vessels converging around the small boat as the other Filipino boats stayed at a distance.

The videos were captured by Filipino fishermen in December and surfaced on May 24 during a public forum and consultation by the nongovernment organisation Peoples Development Institute and the University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs, to which the locals were invited.

Henrelito Empoc, spokesman of Bigkis ng mga Mangingisda, said at the forum: 'We're really frightened. But we are fishermen and that's where we get our livelihood.'

Expansionist China currently lays claim over almost the entire South China Sea, one of the world's busiest sea lanes. But a United Nations-backed tribunal in 2016 deemed its claims groundless.

The Communist rogue state - accused of genocide for its crimes against the Uyghur population - has been steadily increasing its influence in recent years through investment in developing countries.

Senators have taken steps to prevent the state's influence in the United States by battling to ban the social media app TikTok.