Hong Kong
CNN
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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.
The rival photo opportunities unfolded on Sandy Cay, a string of three uninhabited sandbars which lie near a Philippine military outpost in the disputed Spratly Islands.
The release of the images comes as US and Philippine forces hold their largest-ever annual joint military drills in nearby waters – and just weeks after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed to enhance America’s military alliance with the Philippines to “reestablish…