China has claimed control over the disputed Sandy Cay reef, situated just five nautical miles from the Philippine-controlled Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Pag-asa hosts a key military post for the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

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.

It said the Chinese Coast Guard had unfurled the Chinese flag in the area and declared China’s sovereignty over the reef.

Also known as Bailan Island, Sandy Cay is on the northern edge of the Tizard Ban of the Spratly Islands in the WPS. Aside from the Philippines and China, the feature is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

CCTV published a photograph of five black-clad personnel standing on the uninhabited reef, with a dark inflatable boat nearby.

Another shot showed four coast guard officials posing with a national flag on the reef’s white surface, which CCTV described as a “vow of sovereignty.”

The group also “cleaned up leftover plastic bottles, wooden sticks, and other debris and garbage on the reef,” the broadcaster said.

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.

Rising tension

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

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

Hours after China confirmed its seizure of Sandy Cay, the Philippines and the United States showcased their integrated air defense capabilities in a joint military exercise off the northern Philippine coast on Sunday (See related story).

The US-Philippine military drills, part of their annual “Balikatan” exercises involving approximately 17,000 personnel, are taking place amid escalating tensions in the South China Sea.

China has criticized the Balikatan exercises. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun previously labeled them a blow to regional stability.

The joint drills also followed reports of increased Chinese naval activity near the Philippines since the commencement of the Balikatan exercises last week.

The Philippine Navy reported that the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong “was detected underway 2.23 nautical miles (about 4 kilometers) southwest” of Babuyan Island on 22 April.

Additionally, on Sunday, the navy disclosed the sighting of three other Chinese vessels approximately 60 kilometers off the coast of Zambales the previous day.

Communist threat

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking in Manila last month, stated that the United States was “doubling down” on its alliance with the Philippines, stressing the importance of deterrence “considering the threats from the Communist Chinese.”

In 2022, China refuted reports that it was expanding its reclamation and building new infrastructures in 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 latest 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.

On late Sunday, the National Security Council issued a statement that the Navy, PNP Maritime Group and Coast Guard deployed at Cays 1 to 3 and its surrounding waters to exercise “maritime domain awareness and jurisdiction” over the WPS.

The statement, however, was silent on whether Chines presence was detected at Sandy Cay.