This is the moment a Filipino tourist waved the Philippine flag on a contested island in the South China Sea.

Footage shows traveller Cheenie Landayan flourishing the flag as she ran on a sandbar at the disputed Pag-asa Island around 280 nautical miles from the Philippine island of Palawan.

Cheenie said she and her friends visited Pag-asa from May 6 to 11 to witness the festivities there, including a sports festival, parade, and beauty pageant.

Speaking to local media, she said: 'That moment felt incredible. Sandy Cay is ours. The Spratly Islands are ours. That's how I felt.

'I was scared, of course. My knees were shaking because while there were Chinese vessels that could easily chase us.'

'It's good that local travelers, Filipinos, can travel here because what we see in the media is limited. First-hand experience is different.'

Expansionist China currently lays claim over almost the entire South China Sea, one of the world's busiest sea lanes. But a United Nations-backed tribunal in 2016 deemed its claims groundless.

The Communist rogue state - accused of genocide for its crimes against the Uyghur population - has been steadily increasing its influence in recent years through investment in developing countries.