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The Philippines criticised a "reckless" report from Chinese state media on Monday, which claimed that a contested reef in the South China Sea was under Beijing's control, asserting that the "status quo" remains unchanged, as reported by the Taipei Times.
Tiexian Reef, also referred to as Sandy Cay Reef, is located near Thitu Island, or Pagasa, where the Philippines has stationed troops and operates a coast guard monitoring base. According to the Taipei Times, the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV stated on Saturday that the China Coast Guard had "implemented maritime control" over Tiexian Reef earlier this month. There have been ongoing confrontations between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea, an area that Beijing claims almost entirely, despite an international ruling declaring such claims have no legal merit. "The assertion by the China Coast Guard that the [reef] has been captured is entirely untrue," said Jonathan Malaya, spokesman for the Philippine National Security Council. On Saturday, CCTV released a photo showing four officials from the China Coast Guard standing with a national flag on the reef's sandy surface, which the broadcaster characterised as a "declaration of sovereignty," noted the Taipei Times. In response, the Philippine Coast Guard published its photo showing Filipino sailors displaying the national flag over the same disputed reef during an early morning mission the day before. There appears to be no evidence that China has established a permanent presence or built any structures on the reef, which comprises a collection of small sandbanks in the Spratly Islands, according to the Taipei Times report. Both Beijing and Manila have accused each other of contributing to what they describe as the ecological degradation of various contested landforms in the South China Sea. The US and Philippine militaries are engaged in joint exercises, which Beijing has claimed threaten regional stability. Chinese naval vessels have been observed in Philippine waters since the commencement of these joint "Balikatan" exercises last week, with the aircraft carrier Shandong reportedly navigating within 2.23 nautical miles (4.1km) of northern Babuyan Island, according to the Taipei Times. (ANI)
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