Sandy Cay: Another line in the sand crossed by China.
Sandy Cay: Another line in the sand crossed by you, guessed it; China.
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Sandy Cay and Chinese South China Sea sovereignty claims.
China has recently taken steps to assert its maritime control in the contested South China Sea by establishing sovereign jurisdiction over Sandy Cay reef, a small and uninhabited sandbank. Earlier, we have seen China seize and militarize the Paracel Islands (South China Sea), the Spratly Islands, Scarborough Shoal, Fiery Cross, Subi, Mischief, Cuarteron, Gaven, Hughes and finally Johnson reefs. The former South China Sea land relamation projects serve her military doctrine.
This move included planting the Chinese flag on the reef, a strategic location just a few kilometres away from the Philippine-held Thitu Island, a vital military installation of the Philippines that includes an army aviation-capable airstrip and 250 residents.
The situation has escalated tensions in the region as Sandy Cay is also claimed by Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines, reflecting the broader territorial disputes within the Spratly Island chain.
Images shared by Chinese state media on Saturday captured China Coast Guard officers conducting activities on Sandy Cay earlier this month.
These actions included an on-site inspection, documentation of what they claimed were “illegal activities,” and the removal of debris such as plastic bottles and wooden sticks scattered across the reef. This effort was portrayed by China as a necessary exercise of their rights, reinforcing their claim over the area, which they refer to as Tiexian Jiao.
This is not the first time the reef has been at the center of tensions. In January, China alleged that its coast guard intercepted and repelled Philippine naval vessels attempting an unauthorized landing and sand sampling operation near Sandy Cay.
These claims have been strongly contested by the Philippines, which maintains a presence in the area and has dispatched its own coast guard vessels to monitor the reef. Philippine authorities are also investigating suspicions that China might be engaging in small-scale land reclamation efforts to expand its physical footprint and fortify its territorial claim.
Beijing has justified its actions by asserting that Sandy Cay is a natural feature rather than a man-made structure, entitling it to a 12-nautical-mile territorial sea under international law.
However, this overlaps with the territorial claims of Thitu Island, further complicating the already tense maritime disputes. The Philippines and other stakeholders in the region have voiced concerns over China's increasingly assertive behaviour, which they perceive as an infringement on their sovereignty and a violation of international agreements aimed at resolving the South China Sea conflicts.
