China and the Philippines have each unfurled their national flags on tiny sandbars in the South China Sea, staking competing sovereignty claims in strategic waters seen as a potential flashpoint for global conflict.

PALAWAN, Philippines — U.S., Filipino and Australian troops dug into beach dunes and unleashed a barrage of firepower — including high-powered rockets — during Balikatan training aimed this week at repelling an amphibious assault.

BEIJING (AP) — China says six Filipinos landed on a tiny outcropping that both countries claim in the South China Sea, days after photos emerged of Chinese coast guard officers displaying a Chinese flag on the same group of sandbars.