>The China Coast Guard (CCG) landed on a disputed reef in the South China Sea earlier this month to assert sovereignty over the island that the Philippines also claims, Chinese media reported on Thursday.
>According to the state-run Global Times, photographs show CCG officers unfurling a Chinese flag on an uninhabited sand bank, identified as Sandy Cay, also known as Tiexian Jiao in China and Pagasa Cay 2 in the Philippines.
>“In mid-April this year, the China Coast Guard exercised sovereign jurisdiction by exercising maritime control at Sandy Cay in the South China Sea,” it reported, without specifying the date of the landing.
>The officers carried out inspections on the reef “to collect video evidence of relevant illegal activities by the Philippines”, and cleared rubbish like plastic bottles, wood sticks and other debris, the report said.
>Part of the contested Spratly Islands, the Sandy Cay is the closest reef to the Subi Reef, China’s second largest artificial island and military base in the South China Sea. It is also only several kilometres from Thitu Island, the largest base the Philippines currently holds.
>The CCG said earlier that China had “indisputable sovereignty” over the Nansha Islands, including the Tiexian Jiao, and their adjacent waters. Nansha is the Chinese name of the Spratly Islands.
>“The China Coast Guard will continue to carry out rights protection and law enforcement activities in the waters under China’s jurisdiction in accordance with the law and resolutely safeguard the country’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.” it quoted its spokesperson Liu Dejun as saying.
>China claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea. The Philippines, as well as Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, have overlapping claims.
>Sandy Cay has become a focus of clashes as tensions between China and the Philippines escalated over the past years. Confrontations also have taken places in Scarborough Shoal, Second Thomas Shoal, Sabina Shoal and Whitson Reef.
What are you gonna do with that sandy cay. It looks kinda useless
SeasickSeal on
Note that Sandy Cay, an uninhabited sandbar that’s ~10m by 30m, is much different from Sand Cay, which sports a Vietnamese military base and is where Google Maps fixates on if you try to find Sandy Cay.
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Archived version: [https://archive.fo/ZKAn8](https://archive.fo/ZKAn8).
>The China Coast Guard (CCG) landed on a disputed reef in the South China Sea earlier this month to assert sovereignty over the island that the Philippines also claims, Chinese media reported on Thursday.
>According to the state-run Global Times, photographs show CCG officers unfurling a Chinese flag on an uninhabited sand bank, identified as Sandy Cay, also known as Tiexian Jiao in China and Pagasa Cay 2 in the Philippines.
>“In mid-April this year, the China Coast Guard exercised sovereign jurisdiction by exercising maritime control at Sandy Cay in the South China Sea,” it reported, without specifying the date of the landing.
>The officers carried out inspections on the reef “to collect video evidence of relevant illegal activities by the Philippines”, and cleared rubbish like plastic bottles, wood sticks and other debris, the report said.
>Part of the contested Spratly Islands, the Sandy Cay is the closest reef to the Subi Reef, China’s second largest artificial island and military base in the South China Sea. It is also only several kilometres from Thitu Island, the largest base the Philippines currently holds.
>The CCG said earlier that China had “indisputable sovereignty” over the Nansha Islands, including the Tiexian Jiao, and their adjacent waters. Nansha is the Chinese name of the Spratly Islands.
>“The China Coast Guard will continue to carry out rights protection and law enforcement activities in the waters under China’s jurisdiction in accordance with the law and resolutely safeguard the country’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.” it quoted its spokesperson Liu Dejun as saying.
>The announcement came as Manila [began its annual Balikatan military drills](https://archive.fo/o/ZKAn8/https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3307287/philippines-us-launch-full-battle-balikatan-drills-some-near-taiwan) with the United States, which the Chinese defence ministry condemned on Thursday as “the Philippines holds a candle to the devil”.
>China claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea. The Philippines, as well as Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, have overlapping claims.
>Sandy Cay has become a focus of clashes as tensions between China and the Philippines escalated over the past years. Confrontations also have taken places in Scarborough Shoal, Second Thomas Shoal, Sabina Shoal and Whitson Reef.
>On Sunday, China and the Philippines had [a naval encounter](https://archive.fo/o/ZKAn8/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3307296/china-philippines-scarborough-shoal-naval-encounter-ahead-us-joint-drills), with the PLA navy saying it had expelled a Philippine warship that “illegally intruded” in the waters off Scarborough Shoal.
!ping Foreign-policy
What are you gonna do with that sandy cay. It looks kinda useless
Note that Sandy Cay, an uninhabited sandbar that’s ~10m by 30m, is much different from Sand Cay, which sports a Vietnamese military base and is where Google Maps fixates on if you try to find Sandy Cay.