FORUM Staff
The Philippines denounced Beijing’s latest aggressive activities in the South China Sea that include China raising its national flag on Sandy Cay and propagating false claims about the stretch of three uninhabited sandbars that the Philippines calls Pag-asa Cay 2.
“The alleged seizure of Pag-asa Cay 2, an integral part of the Philippine national territory in the West Philippine Sea, was a clear example of the disinformation activities of the Chinese government, where it made it appear that China has effective control of the cay by displaying its flag and conducting waste collection,” the Philippines’ National Maritime Council (NMC) stated.
In late April 2025, a day after China raised its flag, the Philippine Coast Guard released a photo of its personnel raising the nation’s flag on the cay, asserting the Philippines’ sovereignty. The sandbars are near a key Philippine military outpost in the disputed Spratly Islands.
The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said it conducted an operation among the Coast Guard, Navy and maritime police to reinforce “Philippine authorities’ routine and lawful exercise of maritime domain awareness and jurisdiction over the West Philippine Sea,” which is what Manila calls the portion of the South China Sea within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
In early May, the Philippines also criticized the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) attempts to spread manipulated information about the sandbars allegedly being under China’s...
US President Donald Trump expanded pressure on the Federal Reserve on Monday by moving to fire Governor Lisa Cook "effective immediately", a step the independent central bank official said he had ...