Beijing says Philippines made ‘illegal landing’ on disputed reef in South China Sea

“Law enforcement officers of the Chinese coastguard landed on the reef, investigated and handled the incident in accordance with the law,” coastguard spokesman Gan Yu said, without further elaborating.

He said China has an “indisputable” sovereign right to the Spratlys, including the reef, and firmly opposed the landing attempt that “violates China’s territorial sovereignty and undermines peace and stability in the South China Sea”.

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“We urge the Philippine side to immediately stop the infringements. The Chinese coastguard will continue to protect our legal rights and enforce the law in waters under China’s jurisdiction,” Gan added.

The reef is located in a strategically important spot of the northern Spratlys.

It is less than three nautical miles (5.6km) west of the Philippine-occupied Thitu Island, where the municipality of the Kalayaan serves as Manila’s administrative centre for the disputed territory.

It is also about 11 nautical miles northeast from Chinese-built artificial island Subi Reef, where Beijing has established a military base and built civilian facilities.

While being disputed by China and the Philippines, these land features and surrounding waters are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan, each of whom controlled some nearby reefs.

The two sides have engaged in persistent confrontations around the Second Thomas Shoal in the eastern part of the Spratlys over the past year.

China has repeatedly blocked Philippine attempts to resupply military personnel on a warship that was deliberately grounded there in 1999, and in some cases has used water cannons against Philippine vessels.

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In the most recent incident, four Philippine crew members were injured in a collision between two coastguard vessels earlier this month.

In another recent incident, Chinese coastguard deployed floating barriers at the mouth of the Scarborough Shoal to prevent a Philippine vessel from entering.

Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea through a loosely defined line known variously as the “nine-dash” or “U-shaped” line, which is contested by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei.

It is also an area where the US navy frequently conducts what it calls freedom of navigation operations.