The Philippines has seriously violated Chinese sovereignty, Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday.

The comment came after Manila said a Chinese navy ship shadowed and attempted to cut off a Philippine navy vessel conducting a resupply mission near Thitu island in the South China Sea.

"The Philippine side illegally occupied the islands and seriously violated China's sovereignty," the foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular news conference.

(Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)