Vietnam protests China, Philippine claims to Sandy Cay

HANOI — Vietnam on Saturday protested claims by China and the Philippines over a disputed reef in the South China Sea which it considers its own territory.

Manila and Beijing traded barbs last week over Sandy Cay, a group of small sandbanks in the waterway’s Spratly Islands, after a Chinese state media report suggested the area had been seized.

The Philippines and China have been engaged in months of confrontations over the South China Sea, which Beijing claims nearly in its entirety despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

On Saturday, Vietnam’s foreign ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang said in a statement posted on the government’s official website that Hanoi had “issued protest notes to the countries involved regarding violations of its sovereignty over Sandy Cay.”

Vietnam considers the resource-rich Spratly Islands – which lie some 500 kilometers off its east coast – as part of its territory.

Pham Thu Hang said that Vietnam demands “relevant parties” respect its sovereignty over the archipelago, urging them to “refrain from actions that further complicate the situation.”

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said last week that the country’s coast guard had “implemented maritime control” over Tiexian Reef, part of Sandy Cay, in mid-April.

Days later, the Philippine Coast Guard released its own photo showing Filipino sailors holding the country’s flag over the same disputed reef during an early morning mission the day before.

The Sandy Cay reef lies near Thitu Island, or Pag-asa, where the Philippines stations troops and maintains a coast guard monitoring base.

The South China Sea is home to valuable oil and gas deposits and crucial shipping lanes, and several of China’s neighbors have voiced concern that Beijing is seeking to expand its reach.

Vietnam, along with several other countries in the region, also claims parts of the strategic waterway.

VP Sara’s silence alarms lawmakers

Meanwhile, allies of President Marcos in the House of Representatives have expressed alarm over what they perceive as the silence of Vice President Sara Duterte when local issues involve China, like the recent illegal activities in Sandy Cay.

Reps. Jay Khonghun of the first district of Zambales and Francisco Paolo Ortega V of La Union’s first district raised the alarm, noting that maritime incursions infringe into Philippine sovereignty, which all Filipinos – Duterte included – should defend.

“If it involves issues other than China, she runs amuck – so to speak. But every time push comes to shove, and China is labeled as an aggressor, she’s nowhere to be found, as if she has no principles or stand at all with regard to China,” Khonghun said.

“If I were her, she should rather use her hubris or arrogance in defending the country to the repeated bullying of China. She should be pro-Philippines and should not go for Team China. Her loyalty to the country should be all out, and should not be too selective,” he added.

As far as Ortega is concerned, if Filipinos cannot depend on the second highest official of the land to fight for them at this early stage, then it would be safe to say that none can be expected of Duterte when she runs and turns up winner in the May 2028 presidential elections.

“This question has been bothering me for quite some time now. But I’d really like to ask: What has she contributed to the country? As far as I know, instead of  helping, the only thing she did or does is to polarize the citizenry and evade repeated questions on her accountability,” he said.

He noted that she could not even give any explanation at all as to who is Mary Grace Piattos, Jay Kamote, Pampano and many others on her list of alleged “informants” upon whom she gave millions in confidential funds.

“If she can’t do this, how much more in the impeachment trial? She’ll be digging her own grave so to speak,” Ortega said, adding this is not just an insult to members of the House but a “grave disservice to the Filipino people who deserve accountability and transparency from their leaders.”

“As an elected official, she is duty-bound to explain how the taxpayers’ money was spent. She cannot just say, ‘I don’t want to explain,’” he added.

Khonghun urged Duterte and some of her candidates and allies to break their silence on China’s repeated incursions in the West Philippine Sea, especially in light of the recent Chinese activities in Sandy Cay.

The latest tension in Sandy Cay, a sandbar located within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone near the municipality of Pag-asa, has sparked national outrage after China’s deployment of personnel and unfurling of a Chinese flag on the cay.