The competing claims are reigniting tensions in the South China Sea and coincide with joint military drills between the U.S. and the Philippines.

The Philippine team, using four motorised rubber boats, disembarked at Pag-asa Cay 1, Cay 2 and Cay 3 before sunrise. Their success was evidence that China’s earlier claims of control were misleading, according to Commodore Jay Tarriela, spokesman for the Philippine Coast Guard on South China Sea issues.

The standoff over Sandy Cay, which lies close to military outposts built by both Beijing and Manila, was the latest between the two nations.