PH Navy dismisses China’s Sandy Cay ‘sovereignty’ claim: Diversion, malign influence

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China earlier claimed to have 'exercised sovereign jurisdiction' over Sandy Cay near Pag-asa Island

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Navy on Monday, April 28 said China lied in claiming that it had “implemented maritime control and exercised sovereign jurisdiction” over Sandy Cay, a reef close to the civilian-occupied Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea. 

“Alam mo, dapat makita natin ‘to from a geopolitical perspective,” explained Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Navy’s spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, in a radio DZBB interview. (We have to view this from a geopolitical perspective.) 

Trinidad pointed out that in the past weeks, the US and Philipines had launched the yearly Balikatan or bilateral wargames across the country. Last week, too, Philippine officials, including the administration’s senatorial candidates, claimed China itself was behind election information interference operations. Trinidad had, weeks ago, also made public the initial results that indicated underweather drones found across the Philippines were likely deployed by China.  

“Now ito, nabubugbog dito ang nasa kabilang side. So they have to come up with an issue para ma-divert lahat,” Trinidad added. (The Chinese side got beaten. So they have to come up with an issue to divert attention.) 

The Philippines, through its military Western Command, deployed a team of soldiers, Philippine Coast Guard, and Maritime Police personnel to missions to three cays close to Pag-asa Island. In at least one of those cays, Filipino personnel held a Philippine flag, similar to what the China Coast Guard had done in claiming to have “exercised sovereign jurisdiction” over Sandy Cay. 

“Hindi nila na-occupy kasi nung pumunta yung ating inter-agency patrol, wala namang tao doon, wala namang flag doon so we don’t even know when that picture was taken. And yet pinapalabas nila at pinipick up ng mga international news na para nasakop nila ang Sandy Cay,” added Trinidad. 

(They did not occupy the cay because when the inter-agency patrol arrived, nobody was there, no flag was there and we do not even know when the picture was taken. Yet they’re making it seem — and international news picked this up — that they’ve taken over Sandy Cay.) 

The cays are close to Pag-asa Island, located beyond the Philippines’ 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone. A permanent civilian population resides on the island, the fathest island feature that the Philippines claims and controls. 

The incident is only the latest in a string of escalations — at sea and through rhetoric — between the Philippines and China over waters and features in the South China Sea. China claims almost all of the South China Sea, includings areas where the Philippines has sovereign rights. – Rappler.com