China says Vietnamese vessels rammed its ships more than 1,000 times

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has accused Vietnam of ramming its ships more than 1,000 times in a disputed part of the South China Sea and said while it wants good relations with its southern neighbour, it would not abandon principles to achieve that.

China claims most of the South China Sea and has over the past couple of years been taking various steps to assert its claim, raising tension in particular with Vietnam and the Philippines.