Camille Naredo

Chinese flags are seen on buildings in the Huangpu district in Shanghai on February 20, 2025. Hector Retamal, AFP/File

Chinese flags are seen on buildings in the Huangpu district in Shanghai on February 20, 2025. (Photo by Hector RETAMAL / AFP)

Article (news)

CHINA

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1745771858255AFP__20250220__36Y933X__v1__Preview__ChinaEconomy.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Chinese flags are seen on buildings in the Huangpu district in Shanghai on February 20, 2025. Hector Retamal, AFP/File"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Chinese flags are seen on buildings in the Huangpu district in Shanghai on February 20, 2025. <em>Hector Retamal, AFP/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>BEIJING, China -- China&#x27;s coast guard said Sunday it had &quot;dealt with&quot; a situation involving six Filipinos who it accused of illegally landing on a disputed reef, after Beijing&#x27;s state media said the tiny sandbank had recently come under Chinese control.</p><p>Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea and has waved away competing assertions from other countries in the region as well as an international ruling that its position has no legal basis.</p><p>China and the Philippines have engaged in months of confrontations in the contested waters, and Manila is currently taking part in sweeping joint military drills with the United States that Beijing has slammed as destabilizing.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/4/27/philippines-us-test-air-defenses-as-china-seizes-reef-1632">READ: Philippines, US test air defenses as China seizes reef</a></div><p>Chinese coast guard spokesperson Liu Dejun said in a statement Sunday evening that six personnel from the Philippines had earlier that day &quot;illegally boarded&quot; the Tiexian Reef, also known as Sandy Cay, despite &quot;warnings and dissuasion&quot; from the Chinese side.</p><p>Liu said that Chinese coast guard personnel then &quot;boarded the reef and investigated and dealt with it in accordance with the law&quot;.</p><p>The statement did not provide further details on the encounter or the identities of the six people from the Philippines.</p><p>&quot;We urge the Philippines to immediately stop its infringement,&quot; Liu said, adding that the actions &quot;violated China&#x27;s territorial sovereignty&quot;.</p><p>The sandbank, part of the Spratly Islands, lies near Thitu Island, also called Pag-asa and the site of a Philippine military facility.</p><p>In a statement, the National Task Force West Philippine Sea said an Inter-Agency Maritime Operation (IAMO) was conducted at Pag-asa Cay 1, Cay 2, and Cay 3 on Sunday morning, in a coordinated effort that involved the Philippine Navy, Philippine Coast Guard, and Philippine National Police - Maritime Group.</p><p>The IAMO &quot;reinforc[ed] Philippine authorities&#x27; routine and lawful exercise of maritime domain awareness and jurisdiction over the West Philippine Sea,&quot; the task force said. </p><p>&quot;During the operation, the teams observed the illegal presence of China Coast Guard 5102, approximately 1,000 yards east of Cay-2 as well as seven (7) Chinese Maritime Militia vessels near Cay-2 and Cay-3,&quot; it added.</p><p>Chinese state media said Saturday that the country&#x27;s coast guard &quot;implemented maritime control&quot; over the Tiexian Reef during the middle of April.</p><p>State broadcaster CCTV said in the report that the coast guard landed on Sandy Cay to &quot;exercise sovereignty and jurisdiction&quot; over the reef, carry out an &quot;inspection&quot; and &quot;collect video evidence regarding the illegal activities of the Philippine side&quot;.</p><p>The broadcaster published a photograph of five black-clad people standing on the uninhabited reef as a dark inflatable boat bobbed in the nearby water.</p><p>Another shot showed four coast guard officials posing with a national flag on the reef&#x27;s white surface, in what CCTV described as a &quot;vow of sovereignty&quot;.</p><p>The group also &quot;cleaned up leftover plastic bottles, wooden sticks and other debris and garbage on the reef&quot;, the broadcaster said.</p><p>The Financial Times reported an unnamed Philippine maritime official as saying that the Chinese coast guard had left after unfurling the flag.</p><p>There do not appear to be any signs that China has permanently occupied the reef or has built a structure on it.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/4/26/3-chinese-warships-seen-as-ph-us-conduct-drills-in-north-luzon-waters-1702">READ: 3 Chinese warships seen as PH, US conduct drills in North Luzon waters</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>- Philippine-US drills -</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h7tmwgmCL48?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></div><p>In recent months, Beijing and Manila have blamed each other for causing what they describe as the ecological degradation of several disputed landforms in the South China Sea.</p><p>China&#x27;s state news agency Xinhua on Friday cited a report from the natural resources ministry that it said &quot;debunked&quot; Manila&#x27;s allegations that Beijing&#x27;s land reclamation projects had harmed the local environment.</p><p>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.</p><p>On Monday, the Philippine and US militaries launched three weeks of annual joint exercises called &quot;Balikatan&quot;, or &quot;shoulder to shoulder&quot;, which will include an integrated air and missile defense simulation for the first time.</p><p>US Marine Corps Lieutenant General James Glynn said at the opening ceremony in Manila that the two sides would &quot;demonstrate not just our will to uphold our mutual defense treaty in existence since 1951 but our matchless capability to do so&quot;.</p><p>&quot;Nothing builds bonds more quickly than shared adversity,&quot; he said, without specifying a common threat.</p><p>Beijing said the maneuvers &quot;undermine regional strategic stability&quot; and accused Manila of &quot;collusion with countries outside the region&quot;.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>China's coast guard said Sunday it had "dealt with" a situation involving six Filipinos who it accused of illegally landing on a disputed reef.</p>

China's coast guard said Sunday it had "dealt with" a situation involving six Filipinos who it accused of illegally landing on a disputed reef.

China says handled Philippine 'infringement' at disputed reef

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China says handled Philippine 'infringement' at disputed reef

Agence France-Presse

Published Apr 28, 2025 12:38 AM PHT

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Updated Apr 28, 2025 12:39 AM PHT

Read More:

China

Beijing

Philippines

diplomacy

West Philippine Sea

South China Sea

Tiexian Reef

Sandy Cay

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