Philippines denies 'irresponsible' Chinese report on disputed reef

The Philippines connected Monday slammed an "irresponsible" Chinese authorities media study claiming a disputed reef successful the South China Sea was nether Beijing's control, saying the presumption quo was unchanged.

The Sandy Cay reef lies adjacent Thitu Island, oregon Pag-asa, wherever the Philippines stations troops and maintains a seashore defender monitoring base.

Chinese authorities broadcaster CCTV said Saturday that the country's seashore defender had "implemented maritime control" implicit Tiexian Reef, portion of Sandy Cay, successful mid-April.

The Philippines and China person been engaged successful months of confrontations implicit the South China Sea, which Beijing claims astir successful its entirety contempt an planetary ruling that its assertion has nary ineligible basis.

"There is nary information whatsoever to the assertion of the China Coast Guard that the (Sandy Cay sandbanks) person been seized," National Security Council spokesperson Jonathan Malaya told a Monday property conference.

"It's successful the involvement of the People's Republic of China to usage the accusation abstraction to intimidate and harass," helium said, calling the Sandy Cay study a "made-up" communicative that had been "irresponsible" to disseminate.

CCTV connected Saturday published a photograph of 4 seashore defender officials posing with a nationalist emblem connected the reef's achromatic surface, successful what the broadcaster described arsenic a "vow of sovereignty".

There bash not look to beryllium immoderate signs that China has permanently occupied oregon built a operation connected the reef, which is simply a radical of tiny sandbanks successful the Spratly Islands.

Both the Philippine and Chinese seashore guards person issued statements successful the past 24 hours describing palmy missions successful which they landed connected the reef to workout their claims of sovereignty.

In caller months, Beijing and Manila person blamed each different for causing what they picture arsenic the ecological degradation of respective disputed landforms successful the South China Sea.

The US and Philippine militaries are presently conducting associated exercises that Beijing has said represent a menace to determination stability.

Chinese warships person been spotted successful Philippine waters since those bilateral "Balikatan" exercises kicked disconnected past week, with craft bearer Shandong reportedly coming wrong 2.23 nautical miles (about 4 kilometres) of bluish Babuyan Island.

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