Philippine Marines, National Police officers and Coast Guard members landed on three contested South China Sea features today to assert Manila’s maritime jurisdiction following a similar China Coast Guard action earlier this month.

Chinese state media says Beijing's coast guard has "implemented maritime control" over the Tiexian Reef during an ongoing battle for control with the Philippines.

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.