China has claimed control over Sandy Cay, which is about five nautical miles from Pag-asa (Thitu) Island, which hosts a key military post for the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea.

According to the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, the China Coast Guard “implemented maritime control and exercised sovereign jurisdiction” over Sandy Cay, which it referred to as Tiexian Jiao.

According to the report, the Chinese Coast Guard had unfurled the Chinese flag in the area and declared China’s sovereignty over the reef.

Sandy Cay, also known as Bailan Island, is a cay on the north edge of the Tizard Bank of the Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea.

Aside from the Philippines and China, the feature is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

In 2022, China refuted reports that it was expanding its reclamation and building new infrastructure on unoccupied features in the Spratlys, particularly over Eldad Reef (Malvar Reef) in the northern Spratlys, Lankiam Cay (Panata Island), Whitsun Reef (Julian Felipe Reef), and Sandy Cay.

Last year, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said a Chinese maritime militia vessel deliberately sideswiped one of its two vessels that were conducting regular and rotating missions in the West Philippine Sea.

According to the BFAR, the newest boat collision between Manila and China vessels occurred near the Pag-asa (Sandy) Cay, which is about five nautical miles from Pag-asa (Thitu) Island in Barangay Pag-asa, Kalayaan, Palawan.

The incident prompted other claimants in the area, such as Taiwan, to issue a scathing statement against China, where it accused the latter of "expansionist objectives" in the South China Sea, particularly in the West Philippine Sea.

China claims the vast South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea. Recently, confrontations between the Philippine Coast Guard and China Coast Guard and militia vessels have significantly increased.

In 2016, the Philippines won a landmark arbitration case against China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration. The ruling invalidated China's expansive claims in the South China Sea.

China has rejected the award, calling it “illegal, null and void.”

DAILY TRIBUNE has reached out to the Department of Foreign Affairs for comment but has not received a response as of press time.