Beijing seizes tiny sandbank in South China Sea

The Chinese coastguard has seized a tiny sandbank in the South China Sea, state media has reported, in an escalation of a regional dispute with the Philippines.
State broadcaster CCTV released images of four officers, wearing all black and holding the Chinese flag, stood on the disputed reef of Sandy Cay in the Spratly Islands.
CCTV said China had “implemented maritime control and exercised sovereign jurisdiction” on the reef earlier in April.
Both China and the Philippines have staked claims on various islands. The Philippines said later on Sunday that it had landed on three sandbanks, releasing an image of officers holding up their national flag in a pose that mimicked the Chinese photo.
It is unclear whether one of the sandbanks the Philippines security forces landed on was also Sandy Cay.

Source: BBC | Language: English