China and Philippines use flags to stake competing claims in South China Sea

The Philippines has rejected China’s claim to a group of three sandbars in the South China Sea, after recent displays by both sides of their national flags on the uninhabited outcrops (National Task Force West Philippine Sea/AP)

The Philippines has rejected China’s claim to a group of three sandbars in the South China Sea, after recent displays by both sides of their national flags on the uninhabited outcrops.

The back and forth over Sandy Cay is the latest flare-up in a long-running dispute over territory in the hotly contested South China Sea, which China claims almost in its entirety.