China annexes island near Philippine military base

China has taken control of a disputed island just a few kilometers from the Philippines' most important military base in the South China Sea, raising the risk of a new confrontation between the two rivals.

The Chinese coast guard “conducted maritime surveillance and exercised sovereign jurisdiction” over the rocky island of Sandy Cay, state-run military broadcaster CCTV reported Saturday morning. It said members of the coast guard raised the Chinese flag to declare sovereignty over the rock in the Spratly archipelago, and released a photo of the act.

The move marks the first time in many years that Beijing, which claims almost the entire South China Sea, has officially planted its flag on a previously unoccupied land feature.

The development comes as the Philippines and its ally, the United States, are conducting “Balikatan,” their largest annual military exercise, which will include coastal defense and island-capture exercises. The drills will be held next week in Philippine territory closest to the Spratly Islands.

Although Sandy Cay is only a sandbar measuring about 200 square meters, it has strategic value for China, as international law gives it the right to territorial sea. This territorial sea, which extends up to 12 nautical miles, overlaps with Thitu Island, which the Philippines uses to monitor Chinese activities in the area.

China's official declaration of sovereignty over Sandy Cay is likely to raise fears that Beijing intends to further build and fortify the unoccupied rocks and sands, they write. MEDIA.

Over the past two years, Manila has increased coast guard patrols and sent scientific teams to investigate reports of Chinese reclamation activities at Sandy Cay and three other reefs further south.

Some maritime experts estimate that it is unlikely that China will launch new fortification projects, as the artificial islands it has built and militarized in the last ten years already provide it with a sufficient military presence and reach.

Currently, there is no sign of a permanent Chinese presence on Sandy Cay or of construction work. A Philippine maritime security official said on Saturday that members of the Chinese coast guard left the area after raising the flag.

However, the official declaration of sovereignty indicates that China "may intensify its harassment of us in Pag-Asa," the official added, using the Filipino name for Thitu Island.

The Philippine Coast Guard has been setting up a surveillance base on Thitu since late 2023, while Manila is currently upgrading the runway and other infrastructure on the island. These activities are part of a broader strategy to make its presence on islands in the South China Sea more sustainable and respond to increasingly aggressive Chinese actions.

Chinese domestic laws give the coast guard the authority to stop and inspect foreign ships that “violate” waters that China considers its territorial waters and to arrest their crews. This increases the risk of a clash with the Philippine military and coast guard near Thitu, in waters that China now treats as its territory.

The Chinese military is far more powerful than the base at Thitu. The installations on the nearby Subi Rock include surface-to-air missile systems, hangars, an airstrip, radar and a deep-sea port. However, since Subi is classified as a sandbar that only comes out of the water at low tide, under international law it does not enjoy territorial sea rights. /Telegraph/