The dispute marks the latest escalation between China and the Philippines, a U.S. treaty ally, over Sandy Cay, an unoccupied sandbar located in one of the region’s most contested maritime zones.China’s Coast Guard said it had identified five Philippine personnel who landed on Sandy Cay, calling the move illegal and accusing Manila of violating Chinese sovereignty, according to state-run outlet Global Times.

The report did not specify whether Chinese authorities had taken any direct action following the alleged landing.Last week, Manila said it had dispatched Philippine Coast Guard personnel to the same area after Chinese state media published images showing Chinese coast guard officers on Sandy Cay holding a Chinese national flag, an act that drew criticism in the Philippines.

The competing actions have further strained already tense relations between the two countries, which have repeatedly confronted each other over reefs, shoals and fishing zones across the South China Sea.Beijing claims sovereignty over nearly the entire strategic waterway despite overlapping claims by several Southeast Asian nations and a 2016 international arbitration ruling that rejected the legal basis of much of China’s claim.

China has rejected that ruling and continues to maintain an extensive coast guard and maritime militia presence across the region.Also on Sunday, a spokesperson for the Philippine Coast Guard said Manila had identified four Chinese vessels conducting what it described as illegal research activities inside Philippine waters and warned that aircraft and ships could be deployed to force them to leave.

The official did not specify the precise location of the Chinese vessels or the nature of the research operations.China’s Foreign Ministry and the Philippine embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The renewed confrontation underscores the volatility of maritime disputes in the South China Sea, where sovereignty claims intersect with strategic shipping lanes, fishing grounds and potential offshore energy reserves.

The dispute remains closely watched by Washington, which has repeatedly reaffirmed that its mutual defense treaty with the Philippines applies to armed attacks on Philippine forces, vessels and aircraft in the Pacific, including the South China Sea.

The animated video, published by LBCI on Friday, depicted Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem, a senior Shiite cleric, addressing fighters represented as birds battling the Israeli army, which was shown as the game’s green pigs.

The clip quickly drew anger from Hezbollah supporters, many of whom accused the broadcaster of mocking both the group and Qassem’s religious standing. Some supporters responded by posting insulting messages and images targeting Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, the highest Christian religious authority in Lebanon.

In a statement, Hezbollah said the video crossed acceptable political boundaries and amounted to “offensive and cheap insults that degrade political discourse to a repulsive level.”The group also urged its supporters not to be “drawn into” what it described as a controversy being “orchestrated by the enemies of the resistance,” signaling an effort to contain the fallout as criticism widened across Lebanon’s already fragile sectarian landscape.

LBCI, founded in the 1980s by the Lebanese Forces, a Christian political party historically opposed to Hezbollah, has in recent years sought to distance itself from partisan affiliations and present itself as an independent broadcaster.

The backlash underscored the sensitivity surrounding political satire in Lebanon, where media outlets, artists and comedians have periodically faced public pressure and legal scrutiny over content seen as offensive to religious or political figures despite the country’s relatively broad space for free expression compared with much of the Arab world.

“Before our holy symbols and our sheikh, all holy symbols fall,” one Hezbollah supporter wrote on X, referring to Patriarch Rai, reflecting the increasingly hostile rhetoric that followed the broadcast.Following the online attacks against Rai, several political and religious officials contacted the patriarch to express solidarity and condemn the sectarian tone of the exchanges.

President Joseph Aoun said in a statement on Saturday that he “condemned and rejected any attacks on the heads of Christian and Muslim religious communities and spiritual figures in Lebanon.”He urged citizens “to refrain from personal insults,” warning of the “negative repercussions” of such rhetoric at a time when Lebanon requires broader national solidarity amid deep political and economic strain.

The dispute comes as Hezbollah remains under intense scrutiny over its military confrontation with Israel. The group entered the regional conflict on March 2 after firing rockets toward Israel in support of its ally Iran, drawing Lebanon deeper into escalating regional hostilities.

Since then, more than 2,600 people have been killed in Israeli attacks, according to Lebanese authorities, despite a fragile truce that took effect on April 17 and has yet to fully halt violence along the border.

The episode highlights how political satire, sectarian identity and regional conflict continue to intersect sharply in Lebanon, where symbolic disputes can quickly evolve into broader national tensions.