The Philippines criticised a “reckless” report from Chinese state media on Monday, which claimed that a contested reef in the South China Sea was under Beijing’s control, asserting that the “status quo” remains unchanged,

China and the Philippines on Monday defended their claims to a disputed reef in the South China Sea, after Manila accused Beijing of seeking to “intimidate and harass” with a state media report that suggested the area had been seized.

Philippine officials say a mission visited Sandy Cay Reef in disputed South China Sea and unfurled the national flag.