Philippine officials say they visited Sandy Cayreef in the South China Sea, where missions were contested, and spread the flag.
The Philippines denied a report by the Chinese Coast Guard that China “treated” a situation involving six Filipino staff.
Chinese Coast Guard spokesman Liu Dejun said in a statement Sunday evening that six Filipino officials had “illegally boarded” the Tiexian Leaf, also known as Sandy Kay, at the beginning of the day, despite “warnings and disgraces” from the Chinese side.
Li said Chinese Coast Guard officials “were boarded the reef, investigated and dealt with it according to the law.” The statement did not provide details about the six of them encountered or identity from the Philippines.
“We urge the Philippines to immediately stop the infringement,” Li said, adding that the action “violated China’s territorial sovereignty.”
Manila officials denied on Monday that China took over SandyCay or that the Philippine mission was intervened by Chinese maritime forces in the conflict zone on Sunday.
Sandycay, part of Spratly Island, is located near Chitu Island, known as Paguasa, and is the site of a Philippine military facility.
“Philippine government officials have firmly denied that China has seized SandiCay or is now taking over SandiCay in the South China Sea forever, explaining a statement released over the weekend through Chinese state media as a “complete lie” as part of Beijing’s disinformation,” Al Jazeera’s Barnaby said in a report from Manilaiji.
“To prove this point, they have shown the media a mission to Sandy Kay by the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy, just like on a recent Sunday morning. They show photos and videos of the Philippine flag, spread out in two of the three sandbars that make up Sandy Kay in the South China Sea,” Lo says.
Lo said Philippine officials confirmed that the Chinese ship was near the disputed reef during the mission Sunday, but denied that the Philippine mission was “dealed” as China claimed.
China’s state media said on Saturday that the country’s coast guard had “imposed maritime controls” on the Tiexian Reef in mid-April. China’s state broadcaster CCTV said the Chinese coast guard will land in SandyCay to “execute sovereignty and jurisdiction” and “conduct an inspection” and “collect video evidence of illegal activities on the part of the Philippines.”
The station released photos of the five people covered in black and stood on an unmanned coral reef as a dark inflatable boat swaying in the nearby water. Another shot showed four Coast Guard officials posing with national flags on the white surface of a coral reef, which CCTV described as “a pledge of sovereignty.”
Reports show there are no indications that China is occupying coral reefs forever.
Also, on Monday, the Philippine and US military launched a three-week annual joint exercise called “Balikatan” or “shoulder to shoulder.”
Beijing said it denounced Manila for piloting “undermining the strategic stability of the region” and “conspiring with countries outside the region.”
Reported from Beijing, Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu said the deployment of the Chinese flag by Sandy Kay’s Coast Guard is important in terms of stating claims against coral reefs, and timing is important ahead of the annual US military exercise.
“So it seems they’re sending a message not only to Manila but also to Washington, with this Chinese flag on this reef,” Yu said.
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