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PH flag raised on Sandy Cay to assert sovereign rights - Palace

Philippine News Agency

By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos
April 30, 2025, 3:48 pm

MANILA -- The Philippines raised the country's flag on Sandy Cay to assert its sovereign rights over the area, Malacañang said on Wednesday.

This, after the Philippine Navy (PN), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and Philippine National Police (PNP)-Maritime Group displayed the Philippine flag on Sandy Cay during an inter-agency maritime operation on Monday to counter China's narrative that it had seized the area.

Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the move was in line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s promise "not to surrender even a small part of our country."

"Pagpapakita ito na hindi kontrolado ng China Coast Guard ang Pag-asa Cay 2 (This shows that the China Coast Guard does not control Pag-asa Cay 2)," Castro said in a Palace press briefing.

"Muling iginigiit ng Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas at mga katuwang na ahensiya ang kanilang paninindigan na ipaglaban ang karapatan ng bansa, protektahan ang karagatang sakop ng Pilipinas at ipaglaban ang karapatan ng bansa na naaayon sa international law (The Armed Forces of the Philippines and partner agencies reaffirm their commitment to fight for the rights of the country, protect the waters under Philippine jurisdiction and fight for the rights of the country in accordance with international law)," she added.

Sandy Cay, also known as the Pag-asa Cay 2, is one of the sandbars situated west of Pag-asa Island in the Kalayaan Island Group of the Philippines.

China lays claim on the feature, which it calls Tiexian Jiao.

In 2019, the late Philippine ambassador to China Jose Santiago Sta. Romana said there was a previous consensus between Beijing and Manila to keep the sandbar unoccupied.

The Department of Foreign Affairs on Monday made a blanket call on countries to refrain from conducting actions that complicate the situation in the South China Sea while negotiations on a binding Code of Conduct on the disputed waters are ongoing. (PNA)