A Filipino civilian ship set sail into contested waters to assert territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Footage shows the MV Kapitan Felix Oca travelling off the coast of Palawan island on Sunday morning.

Volunteers - including Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, and Malaysian musicians - were onboard to hold a ' historic sea concert' near the disputed Pagasa Island.

The mission, dubbed 'Atin Ito' or 'This is Ours', was scheduled for May 26 to 30.

Atin Ito Coalition convenor Rafaela David said in a statement: 'We proceed as planned, and we hope to conduct our musical event, ideally and safely within the vicinity of Pag asa Island. What we bring is peace through music, not the language of war.'

The Philippine Coast Guard has also deployed escorts to accompany the civilian vessel.

The mission was launched after China Coast Guard (CCG) ships blasted a government research ship with a water cannon on Thursday, May 22.

The BRP Datu Sanday, operated by the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), was collecting sand samples as part of a marine scientific research initiative when it was allegedly sideswiped and doused by the CCG.

Despite China's 'aggressive, dangerous, and illegal' actions, BFAR said the Philippine team was able to complete the research expedition.

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.