No, China has not started a war with the Philippines and bombed Filipino fishing boats

The posts, including this one below, begin with a series of sentences detailing the fictional conflict, and say there is a media blackout to prevent the public from panicking.

The photo supporting the text shows black smoke rising from boats that have exploded, indicating they are the Filipino fishing vessels purportedly attacked by the Chinese.

The second half of the text then clearly signals the post is satire.

However the second half is not immediately visible to people scrolling on their Facebook feed. They initially only see the first half, and need to click on "See More" before the satirical text appears.

The second half of the text says US President Donald Trump has sought help from comic book characters the Avengers, Spiderman and Superman.

The post says Filipino comic book superheroes Captain Barbell, Darna, Elastic Man, as well as Japanese anime character Goku, will also defend the Philippines.

This version of the post tells people at the end of the text to make reading a habit and to not just comment, in an apparent warning for people to be sceptical of what they see on social media.

A reverse image search also shows the photo used in the post to be a 2015 image of foreign boats being blown up by the Indonesian Navy for fishing illegally in its nation's waters.

Thousands of people have shared the post, with many giving comments or emoticons to indicate that they understand it is a joke.

However,  some shared the posts with status updates that said: “be safe” and “stay safe”.

Others voiced anger at China and a willingess to fight for the Philippines, such as the one below.

An English translation of the post is: “Curse China, the Philippines has been silent on the issue of West Philippine Sea and then they will act like that. Arm me. I will fight them to defend my countrymen and my country”.

The post below warned Filipinos to be prepared for colonisation. 

When translated to English, the post says: “This has not been reported in the news that's why we don't know anything about it. An acquaintace from Zambales (province) told me about this. Get ready because the coloniser has started to act”.

China and the Philippines are among a group of nations with competing claims over parts of the South China Sea.

The disputes have made the sea a potential flashpoint for military conflict, with China and Vietnam engaging in deadly battles over contested areas in 1974 and 1988.

In recent years China has sought to enforce its claims over nearly all of the sea by setting up military airbases on newly built artificial islands, leading some to fear further conflicts.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly warned of the dangers of the dispute escalating into war.

"I can declare war on China tonight, but who will attack them? Soldiers? My police? They will all die. I have always said, why will I go to war for a battle that I cannot win? I would be a fool to do that," he told reporters in May this year.