Flag Wars in the South China Sea: Tensions Reach New Heights! Flag Wars in the South China Sea: Tensions Reach New Heights! 
Amid rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific, China and the Philippines have unfurled competing national flags on Sandy Cay — a disputed sandbank in the volatile Spratly Islands. 

This symbolic showdown comes just days after the U.S. and the Philippines kicked off their biggest-ever joint military drills, “Balikatan” ("shoulder to shoulder"), featuring a first-of-its-kind integrated air and missile defense simulation. 

Meanwhile, Chinese state media claims their Coast Guard landed on the reef two weeks ago, raised their flag, and “exercised sovereign jurisdiction.”

The message is clear: the South China Sea is heating up fast.