A small sand bank in the disputed Sea of South China has become the last point of inflammation in tensions between China and the Philippines, and each side shows its flag to reinforce claims on the island.
Earlier this month, the members of the Chinese Coast Guard landed in the Arrecife in dispute, Sandy Cay, deployed a flag and “exercised sovereign jurisdiction,” Chinese state media reported Thursday.
They left the island on Sunday, when the Philippines deployed their own staff to the Arena Bank. Hours later, Beijing described the law as an “illegal shipping”, saying that it had “indisputable sovereignty” on the Spratly Islands, a chain of land splinter dishes, including Sandy Cay, in the South China Sea and its surrounding waters.
The confrontation occurs days after the United States and the Philippines began its annual joint military exercises in the Philippines, which China has criticized as regional stability. The United States is an ally of the Philippines Treaty and has pledged to help Manila in case of an attack.
The expansive territorial statements of China in the South China Sea have accumulated tensions in the region for years. He has accumulated a great military presence in the Spratlys, establishing a military base in the country recovered around Subi Reef, which is close to Thitu Island, the most important military post in the Philippines in the Spratlys.
Some observers said that China could be trying to affirm the control of Sandy Cay, which covers an area of 200 square meters, or approximately 2,150 square feet, to legitimize their claim in Subi Reef, whose natural parts are submerged.
“Even if they created an artificial island, there is no territorial sea,” said Antonio Carpio, a former judge of the Supreme Court who helped the Philippines win an emblematic international governance against China on their claims in the South China Sea. “The only way they can legalize that is to get Sandy Cay.”
Euan Graham, a senior analyst of the Institute of Strategic Policy of Australia, said the last development reflected a change in China’s approach to the South China Sea.
“Concrete giant slabs do not accumulate or are poured into the PLA,” said Graham, referring to the Popular Liberation Army of China. “They are doing a flag wave ceremony, jumping and claiming sovereignty and testing the waters to see what happens. The interesting part is that the Philippines entered directly and effectively copied the same modus operandi.”
He added: “The key question is, what is the attitude of the United States? Does your ally support if you heat up more or will you say:” Well, no, we will not go to war on a piece of dumb sand. “”
On Monday morning, Jonathan Malaya, the deputy general director of the National Security Council of the Philippines, withdrew China’s statement that Beijing had surpassed the reef and urged “acting with a reverse and not increasing tensions” in the southern sea of China.
“It is not for the benefit of any nation if these things are happening, nor for the benefit of any nation if such ads and irresponsible statements are released to the public and the world,” he told reporters.
Beijing states that around 90 percent of the South China Sea, of which Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines are also claimed. Manila has been at the forefront of the territorial struggle, saying that Chinese ships have been blocking access to fishing sites, as well as oil and gas deposits in the waters that are in their exclusive economic zone.
These tensions have intensified dramatically in recent years, increasing the risk that Washington can be dragged into a conflict.
Both the Philippines and China have published photographs of their own flags shown in the reefs. The Chinese state station CCTV published a photograph of four people stopped in the unrecognized reef.
Jay Tarriela, spokesman for the Philippine Coast Guard, told the journalists that Manila had displayed the officers to verify if the Chinese government had installed some infrastructure or monitoring devices in Sandy Cay but found nothing. But he added that a ship from the Chinese coast guard and seven vessels from the China maritime militia remained close to the island.
