Chinese coast guards fired water cannon at Filipino fishermen to keep them away from a disputed reef, the Philippine military claimed yesterday.

General Emmanuel Bautista said that the military was investigating the January 27 incident at Scarborough Shoal.

Officials said the cannon was fired from a distance to scare off the vessels but they were not hit by the spray.

The area in the South China Sea has been in Chinese hands since 2012 after Filipino forces backed away from a tense naval standoff.

Gen Bautista said: “It’s our policy to avoid any confrontation with anybody — in this case the Chinese coast guard or the People’s Liberation Army navy.”

But he said that “if armed violence is used against our people, then we will have to react to the best of our ability.”

US ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg called for talks on a “code of conduct” in the disputed waters.

He said Washington doesn’t take sides but that China’s recent imposition of fishing and air regulations were illegal.

China didn’t comment yesterday but has rejected the Philippines’ claims.

Philippines President Benigno Aquino III recently likened China’s actions in the sea to the nazi takeover of Czechoslovakia before World War II while urging Western leaders not to “appease” Beijing.

“Such a comparison is ridiculously inconceivable and unreasonable,” said the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

“China always steadily maintains international justice and has made huge sacrifices and indelible historical contributions for the victory of the world’s anti-fascist war.”