Disputed West PH Sea reef: Manila slams ‘irresponsible’ Chinese report

This handout photo taken on March 21, 2024 and received from the Philippine Coast Guard and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (PCG/BFAR) shows an aerial view of Philippine scientists inspecting Sandy Cay reef, near the Philippine-held Thitu Island, in Spratly Islands, in disputed waters of the South China Sea. The Chinese coast guard seized control of a disputed reef near a major Philippine military outpost in the South China Sea, according to Beijing’s state media, adding to longstanding territorial tensions with Manila. The Chinese coast guard “implemented maritime control” over the Tiexian Reef, also known as Sandy Cay, during the middle of April 2025, state broadcaster CCTV reported on April 26, 2025. (Photo by Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines on Monday slammed an “irresponsible” Chinese state media report claiming a disputed reef in the West Philippine Sea was under Beijing’s control, saying the status quo was unchanged.

The Sandy Cay reef lies near Thitu Island, or Pag-asa, where the Philippines stations troops and maintains a coast guard monitoring base.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said Saturday that the country’s coast guard had “implemented maritime control” over Tiexian Reef, part of Sandy Cay, in mid-April.

READ: China seizes disputed West PH Sea reef near key military outpost – report

The Philippines and China have been engaged in months of confrontations over the South China Sea, which Beijing claims nearly in its entirety despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

“There is no truth whatsoever to the claim of the China Coast Guard that the (Sandy Cay sandbanks) have been seized,” National Security Council spokesman Jonathan Malaya told a Monday press conference.

Philippine Commodore Jay Tarriela (R), Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, speaks while National security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya (C) and Philippine Navy Rear Admiral Roy Trinidad (L), spokesman for South China Sea issues, listen during a press conference in Manila on April 28, 2025. The Philippines on April 28, slammed a Chinese state television report claiming a disputed reef in the South China Sea was now under Beijing’s control as “irresponsible”,saying the status quo was unchanged. Agence France-Presse

“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.

CCTV on Saturday published a photograph of four coast guard officials posing with a national flag on the reef’s white surface, in what the broadcaster described as a “vow of sovereignty”.

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 Islands.

READ: PCG: Maritime op at Pag-asa Cay proves China’s claim is false

Both the Philippine and Chinese coast guards have issued statements in the past 24 hours describing successful missions in which they landed on the reef to exercise their claims of sovereignty.

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 West Philippine Sea.

The US and Philippine militaries are currently conducting joint exercises that Beijing has said constitute a threat to regional stability.

Chinese warships have been spotted in Philippine waters since those bilateral “Balikatan” exercises kicked off last week, with aircraft carrier Shandong reportedly coming within 2.23 nautical miles (about four kilometres) of northern Babuyan Island.