On Saturday, the Chinese State CCTV station announced that in mid -April the Beijing Army “She implemented maritime control” over the Rafa Sandy Cayalso known as Tiexian. It is a small shoal, which is part of SPRATLY Islandslocated near the island of Titu – the main Philippine military base in the South China Sea. It is strategic for China because it allows you to expand the jurisdiction to an area of 12 nautical miles.
Media: China took control of Rafa Sandy Cay
According to CCTV, the army took control of Sandy Cay to exercise the aforementioned “jurisdiction”, conduct the “inspection” and “gather video evidence for the illegal activity of the Philippine side”.
The sender also published A photo of four officers of the Coast Guard, posing with China National Flagwhich was supposed to be a “wedding of sovereignty” and reported that this group “cleaned the remains of plastic bottles, wooden sticks and other rubbish on the reef.”
In turn, he reported the “Financial Times”, citing an anonymous Filipino official that The Chinese left the reef after developing the flag. The newspaper emphasizes that there is no evidence that the reef was seized permanently or that the Chinese army builds a structure on it.
Another edition of the dispute in the South China Sea
Pekin for the first time in years He officially placed his flag on an uninhabited land in the South China Sea. According to “FT” journalists, this increases the risk of tightening the confrontation in the region, the more that Chinese law allows coast guards to stopping and inspection of foreign ships recognized as aggressors and stopping their crews.
China and the Philippines, as well as Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan for many years were unable to agree the status of two groups of small islands and reefs in the South China Sea – the SPRATLY Archipelago (Chinese name Nansha) in the south and the Paracel Islands (Sisha) in the north, as well as neighboring water – exclusive economic zones with a width of 200 sea miles.
Beijing is the right to sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea and rejected the international ruling of the permanent arbitration tribunal in the Hague of 2016, claiming that his position has no legal grounds. According to him, China's actions around the SPRATLY archipelago are illegal.
American-Filipino military exercises “Balikatan” are underway
In recent months, Beijing and Manila have blamed each other to cause what they describe as ecological degradation of several disputed areas in the South China Sea.
On Friday, the Chinese State Press Agency Xinhua quoted the report of the Ministry of Natural Resources, which, he claims, He “overthrow” the charges of Manila that Beijing's land reclamation projects harmed the local environment.
On Monday, Filipino and American troops began three -week annual joint exercises called “Balikatan” or “shoulder side by side”, which for the first time will include an integrated simulation of anti -aircraft and missile defense.
General Lieutenant of the USA Infantry Corps James Glynn said during the opening ceremony in Manila that both sides “will” demonstrate not only our will to maintain the Treaty on mutual defense of the mutual defense in force since 1951, but also our ability to do so. “
– Nothing builds bonds faster than sharing adversity he said, but not specifically indicating China.
Beijing said that Maneuvers “undermine regional strategic stability” And he accused Manila of “collusion with countries outside the region.”