This is the dramatic moment China Coast Guard (CCG) boats allegedly seized food supplies meant for Filipino soldiers in the South China Sea.

Video shows two Chinese rubber boats and a pair of smaller Filipino vessels in a tense cat-and-mouse chase as Filipino troops were retrieving airdropped supplies near the BRP Sierra Madre, a rusty World War II ship used as a Philippine outpost in the Second Thomas Shoal, on May 19.

The Chinese boats were seen circling and nearly crashing into the Filipino soldiers during the encounter, with Chinese personnel apparently attempting to clamber onto one Philippine boat to grab a bag of rations.

The China Coast Guard reportedly left after seeing the Filipino soldiers on the BRP Sierra Madre holding firearms.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said the soldiers obtained only three of the four batches of supplies sent to them.

The batch that the CCG allegedly snatched was reportedly dumped into the sea after its crew found the bags were full of food and medicine.

The incident happened on May 19, but the clip was released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines this week following Beijing's claims that Filipino soldiers had pointed guns at its coast guard.

In a statement, AFP chief-of-staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. said: 'The Armed Forces of the Philippines denies the reported allegations of gun-pointing by our troops stationed in BRP Sierra Madre (LS57) in Ayunging shoal to China Coast Guard (CCG) personnel.

'Our personnel are governed by the Rules of Engagement (ROE) and clearly acted with the highest level of professionalism, restraint, and discipline in the performance of their mission to safeguard our sovereignty and sovereign rights.'

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.