Philippine coast guard accuses China of 'dangerous maneuvers' against scientists. The incident occurred Thursday in the Sandy Cay reef area, a few kilometers from the Philippine islet of Thitu in the Spratly archipelago.
The Chinese coast guard, for its part, indicated Thursday that 34 Filipinos had “illegally” landed on the reef, called Tiexian Jiao by China and Pagasa Cay 2 by the Philippines. Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, including waters and islands near the coasts of several neighboring countries.