Tensions have mounted since China transformed reefs in the area -- also claimed by several neighbouring countries -- into small islands capable of supporting military facilities, a move that the US says threatens freedom of navigation.
Senior officials in Washington have signalled that the US military could sail close by the islands in the coming days or weeks to demonstrate that Washington does not recognise a Chinese claim to territorial waters around them.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that the country respected freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, but would "firmly oppose infringement of sovereignty under that pretext".
Beijing insists it has sovereign rights to nearly all of the South China Sea, even waters close to the coasts of other states.
The sea is a strategically vital waterway with shipping lanes through which about a third of all the world's traded oil passes, and the dispute has raised fears of clashes.
Hua's comments came after US Defense Secretary Ash Carter warned Beijing following a meeting of American and Australian officials Tuesday that Washington will continue to send its military "wherever international law allows", including the South China Sea.
Australia is a key Pacific ally of the US and its foreign minister Julie Bishop said the two countries were "on the same page" on the issue.
An editorial in the Global Times, which is close to China's ruling Communist party, condemned Washington's "ceaseless provocations and coercion".
"China mustn't tolerate rampant US violations of China's adjacent waters and the skies over those expanding islands," it said, adding that its military should "be ready to launch countermeasures according to Washington's level of provocation".
Coming within 12 nautical miles of the islands could be a "breach of China's bottom line", the paper said, warning: "If the US encroaches on China's core interests, the Chinese military will stand up and use force to stop it."
Satellite images of the islands published by the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies show that China has reclaimed millions of square metres (feet) of land in the Spratlys, known as Nansha in Chinese.
The imagery also shows China has built a host of facilities, including as many as three runways, at least one of them 3,000 metres (10,000 feet) long.
On Saturday, China said work had finished on two lighthouses in the disputed area and pledged more construction, which it says is intended to serve civilian as well as military purposes.
The work has been seen as an attempt by Beijing to assert its territorial claims by establishing physical facts in the water, although international law says they can only arise from naturally occurring geographic features.
In May, video taken by CNN during a surveillance flight by a US P-8 Poseidon showed Chinese naval forces warning the US aircraft away from the artificial islands.
A tense broadcast from Chinese forces in the area, warned the craft, which remained outside the limit, to "please go away... to avoid misunderstanding."
Hua has previously accused "certain countries" of "flexing military muscles in the South China Sea over recent period of times".
"That is the biggest cause of 'militarisation' in the South China Sea," she added Wednesday.
Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam -- members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) -- claim parts of the sea. Taiwan is a sixth claimant.
In the past, Chinese ships have harried fishing vessels from neighbouring countries for operating in contested waters in the area.
Vietnam has repeatedly accused China of ramming the craft as they ply local waters.
China has invited ASEAN defence ministers for a two-day informal summit in Beijing starting Thursday, according to the country's defence ministry.
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15/10/15
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Beijing Warns US on S. China Sea Patrols
- U.S. mulls sailing near disputed South China Sea islands: Pentagon official...
- China said on Friday it would not stand for violations of its territorial waters in the name of freedom of navigation, as the United States considers sailing warships close to China's artificial islands in the South China Sea...
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US patrol plan risks ‘escalating tensions’ ...
ReplyDeleteTensions in the South China Sea could spiral out of control if the US starts patrolling too close to Chinese islands, with any military confrontation between China and the US escalating to a dangerous level, analysts said Wednesday.
Speaking after a two-day meeting between US and Australian foreign and defense ministers in Boston, US defense secretary Ashton Carter said Tuesday that the US would sail and fly wherever international law allows, including the South China Sea.
His remarks were rebuked by China's foreign ministry, which said China has indisputable sovereignty over certain South China Sea islands and their surrounding waters and that China is not the one that had militarized the region.
"I want to point out that some countries have recently flexed their military muscles again and again in the South China Sea," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing Wednesday.
"This is the biggest factor in the militarization of the South China Sea. We hope the relevant countries cease hyping up the South China Sea issue and scrupulously abide by their promises not to take sides on the territorial disputes," she said.
Carter's statement came a day after The New York Times reported that the US has been briefing its allies in Asia, including the Philippines, on plans to conduct naval patrols near Chinese islands, which could come as close as within the 12 nautical mile limit.
The patrols look more imminent according to a Wednesday Reuters report, which, by quoting some analysts in Washington, said the patrols could happen at the end of this or next week.
Countermeasures
"What will happen is that China will take necessary countermeasures [if the US begins patrolling the area.] The actual measures will depend on how frequently the US decides to enter the airspace or waters close to the islands and what kind of aircraft or ship they plan to send," Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute for the South China Sea, told the Global Times.
According to Wu, the first measure would involve diplomatic and military warnings. If the situation escalates, China may dispatch planes to tail US aircraft to decide if there is hostile intent. If this is believed to be so, the next step would be for the Chinese military to expel the US ships and planes.............http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/947234.shtml
15/10/15