China and the Philippines have each unfurled their national flags on tiny sandbars in the South China Sea, staking competing sovereignty claims in strategic waters seen as a potential flashpoint for global conflict.

Both countries have planted flags on a collection of sand bars, extending the clash over the area between Beijing and Manila, a U.S. ally.

BEIJING (AP) — China says six Filipinos landed on a tiny outcropping that both countries claim in the South China Sea, days after photos emerged of Chinese coast guard officers displaying a Chinese flag on the same group of sandbars.