China, Philippines trade barbs over disputed South China Sea reef (2025)

MANILA – China and the Philippines on April 28 defended their claims to a disputed reef in the South China Sea after Manila accused Beijing of seeking to “intimidate and harass” using a state media report that suggested the area had been seized.

The Philippines said there was no truth to news reports that Beijing had seized control of a disputed reef in the South China Sea, saying its personnel landed on the unoccupied sandbars and found no Chinese presence there.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said on April 25 its coast guard landed on Sandy Cay as part of maritime control operations to exercise its sovereignty. It did not say China was occupying the reef.

CCTV showed pictures of four coast guard personnel in black combat gear holding a Chinese flag after arriving on Sandy Cay on an inflatable dinghy.

On April 28, the Philippine Coast Guard released its own photo showing Filipino sailors holding the country’s flag over the same disputed reef during an early morning mission the day before.

There do not appear to be any signs that China has permanently occupied or built a structure on the reef, which is a group of small sandbanks in the Spratly archipelago.

Philippine National Security Council spokesman Jonathan Malaya said on April 28 that news reports of China seizing Sandy Cay were false, as a Philippine team visited the sandbars on April 27 and found nobody there.

“The facts on the ground belie their statements,” Mr Malaya said.

“We are here to debunk that and to assure the public that we have not lost the Pagasa Cays,” Mr Malaya said, using the Filipino name for the sandbars, calling the reports “irresponsible”.

“It’s in the interest of the People’s Republic of China to use the information space to intimidate and harass,” he said, calling the Sandy Cay report a “made-up” story that had been “irresponsible” to disseminate.

Spat over the Spratlys

China’s Foreign Ministry on April 28 reiterated the reef is part of China’s territory and said its moves constituted “rights protection and law enforcement activities”.

Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said the steps were “aimed at countering the Philippines’ illegal landing and other acts of infringement and provocation” as well as “firmly safeguarding national territorial sovereignty”.

Ties between China and the Philippines are significantly strained amid heated spats over disputed parts of the South China Sea, where Beijing has deployed a coast guard armada to reinforce its claim to sovereignty over almost the entire waterway.

The Philippines is vexed by the conduct and permanent presence in its exclusive economic zone of China’s coast guard and what it considers a militia of fishing vessels under its control.

Sandy Cay is close to Thitu Island, the largest and most strategically important of the nine features Manila occupies in the Spratly archipelago, where Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and China also have a presence, ranging from reefs and rocks to islands, natural and artificial.

China’s man-made islands include runways, ports and missile systems.

The Philippines on April 27 said it observed near Thitu Island what it called the illegal presence of Chinese coast guard and militia vessels. China’s coast guard responded by calling the Philippine presence unlawful.

Mr Malaya urged China to show restraint to prevent an escalation, reminding Beijing it was bound by a 2002 deal with its South-east Asian neighbours, which included a mutual agreement not to occupy more uninhabited features.

Philippine forces are present on Thitu Island, and Manila inaugurated a coast guard monitoring base there in 2023 in an effort to counter what it describes as Chinese aggression.

On April 21, the Philippine and US militaries launched three weeks of annual joint exercises called Balikatan, or “shoulder to shoulder”, which will include an integrated air and missile defence simulation for the first time.

US Marine Corps Lieutenant-General James Glynn said at the opening ceremony in Manila that the two sides would “demonstrate not just our will to uphold our mutual defence treaty in existence since 1951, but also our matchless capability to do so”.

“Nothing builds bonds more quickly than shared adversity,” he said, without specifying a common threat.

Beijing said the manoeuvres “undermine regional strategic stability”, and accused Manila of “collusion with countries outside the region”.

The latest trading of barbs comes as both the Philippines and China accuse each other of espionage and disinformation, further fuelling diplomatic tensions.

The Philippines is investigating allegations by its security council that Chinese state-sponsored groups may be attempting to influence the outcome of the June mid-term election, which Beijing has rejected. AFP, REUTERS

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