China and Philippines display competing flags on disputed South China Sea sandbank

China and the Philippines have displayed their national flags in competing photo opportunities on a disputed sandbank in the South China sea, ratcheting up longstanding regional tensions between the two countries. The dispute played out at Sandy Cay, which is part of the disputed Spratly Islands, and comes days after the US and the Philippines launched their annual joint military drills called "Balikatan", or "shoulder to shoulder", which this year will include an integrated air and missile defence simulation for the first time. The latest confrontation appears to have begun on Thursday, when Chinese state media reported the Coast Guard…