China has claimed sovereignty over an uninhabited reef in the South China Sea, according to state media, setting the stage for an escalation of tensions with the Philippines over the disputed area.

The Chinese military has landed on the uninhabited disputed Sandy Cay reef in the South China Sea. It is located just a few kilometers from the Philippines' most important military outpost on Thitu Island,

China and the Philippines accused each other on Tuesday of dangerous manoeuvres in a hotly disputed shoal in the South China Sea, in the latest confrontation over the waterway.