China has claimed a disputed reef a few kilometers from the Philippines’ most important military base in the South China Sea as its own, China Central Television reported. The island in question is the uninhabited Sandy Cay island of the Spratly archipelago, the Financial Times reported. The Chinese Coast Guard raised the national flag over it, marking the first time in years that a previously unoccupied piece of land in the region has been officially seized. The report said Beijing took the action to “proclaim sovereignty and to collect video evidence of illegal activities by the Philippine side.”
The island is a sandbank with an area of just over 200m². However, under international laws, it entitles it to territorial waters within a radius of 22 kilometers. This zone includes the island of Titu, which the Philippines uses to monitor China’s activities in the South China Sea. Among other things, it is home to one of the most important outposts that Manila has operated since 2023. Now they are modernizing the infrastructure there, including the airstrip. At the same time, the Philippines has so far found no signs of a permanent Chinese presence on Sandy Cay. A spokesman for the country’s maritime security office said Chinese Coast Guard officers left shortly after planting the flag and taking photos.
