BEIJING (Reuters) - China's military warned the United States on Saturday that U.S.-Philippine
military exercises have raised risks of armed confrontation over the disputed South China Sea in the toughest high-level warning yet
after weeks of tensions.
China's official Liberation Army Daily
warned that recent jostling with the Philippines
over disputed seas where both countries have sent ships could boil over into
outright conflict, and laid much of the blame at Washington's door.
This week American and Filipino
troops launched a fortnight of annual naval drills amid the stand-off between Beijing and Manila, who
have accused each other of encroaching on sovereign seas near the Scarborough
Shoal, west of a former U.S.
navy base at Subic Bay.
The joint exercises are held in
different seas around the Philippines;
the leg that takes place in the South China Sea
area starts on Monday.
"Anyone with clear eyes saw
long ago that behind these drills is reflected a mentality that will lead the South China Sea issue down a fork in the road towards
military confrontation and resolution through armed force," said the
commentary in the Chinese paper, which is the chief mouthpiece of the People's
Liberation Army.
"Through this kind of
meddling and intervention, the United States
will only stir up the entire South China Sea
situation towards increasing chaos, and this will inevitably have a massive
impact on regional peace and stability."
Up to now, China has chided the Philippines
over the dispute about the uninhabited shoal known in the Philippines as the Panatag Shoal and which China calls Huangyan, about 124 nautical miles
off the main Philippine island
of Luzon.
China has territorial disputes with the
Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei,
Malaysia and Taiwan across the South
China Sea, which could be rich in oil and gas and is spanned by
busy shipping lanes.
Major General Luo Yuan, a retired
PLA researcher well-known for his hawkish views, amplified the warnings from Beijing issued through
state media.
"China
has already shown enough restraint and patience over this incident," Luo
said of the friction with Manila,
according to an interview published on Chinese state television's website (http://news.cntv.cn).
If the Philippines "takes irrational actions,
then the current confrontation could intensify, and the Chinese navy will
certainly not stand idly by," he added.
REGIONAL TENSIONS
Beijing has sought to
resolve the disputes one-on-one with the countries involved but there is worry
among its neighbours over what some see as growing Chinese assertiveness in
staking claims over the seas and various islands, reefs and shoals.
In past patches of tension over
disputed seas, hawkish Chinese military voices have also risen, only to be
later reined in by the government. The same could be true this time.
Since late 2010, China has sought to cool tensions with the United States.
Especially with the ruling Chinese Party preoccupied with a leadership
succession late in 2012, Beijing
has stressed hopes for steady relations throughout this year.
Nonetheless, experts have said
that China remains wary of U.S. military
intentions across the Asia-Pacific, especially in the wake of the Obama
administration's vows to "pivot" to the region, reinvigorating
diplomatic and security ties with allies.
The Liberation Army Daily
commentary echoed that wariness.
"The United States' intention of trying to draw more
countries into stirring up the situation in the South
China Sea is being brandished to the full," said the
newspaper.
(Editing
by Sanjeev Miglani)