China should prepare itself for military confrontation in the South China Sea, an influential Chinese paper said yesterday.
Joint editorials in the Chinese-language and English editions of the Global Times were published as tension mounted ahead of a ruling expected on Tuesday next week by an international court hearing competing claims of China and the Philippines in the South China Sea.
Taiwan also has claims in the area.
The newspaper said the dispute had already been complicated by US intervention and now faced further escalation due to the threat posed to China’s sovereignty by the tribunal.
“Washington has deployed two carrier battle groups around the South China Sea and it wants to send a signal by flexing its muscles: As the biggest powerhouse in the region, it awaits China’s obedience,” the Global Times said.
“China hopes disputes can be resolved by talks, but it must be prepared for any military confrontation. This is common sense in international relations,” it said.
Asked about the editorials and whether conflict could break out in the South China Sea, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Hong Lei (洪磊) said that the government was committed to peace.
“China will work with ASEAN countries to safeguard the peace and stability of the South China Sea,” he told a daily news briefing. “We’ve pointed out many times recently that as for the relevant dispute, China does not accept any decision imposed by a third party as a means of resolution, nor any solution plan that is forced upon China.”
China, which has been angered by US patrols in the South China Sea, yesterday began drills in waters near the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島) yesterday.
The Chinese Ministry of Defense said the drills are routine, the China Daily reported.
US officials have expressed concern that the ruling by the court in The Hague could prompt Beijing to declare an air defense identification zone as it did over the East China Sea in 2013, or step up the pace of reclamation and construction on its holdings in the disputed region.
What response China takes will “fully depend” on the Philippines, the China Daily said, citing unidentified sources.
“There will be no incident at all if all related parties put aside the arbitration results,” one of the sources told the publication.
Meanwhile, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte yesterday offered China conciliatory talks over Beijing’s maritime claims.
Duterte said he was optimistic that the UN-backed tribunal in The Hague would rule in favour of the Philippines.
“If it’s favorable to us, let’s talk,” Duterte said in a speech before the Philippine Air Force at the former US Clark Air Base, about an hour’s drive from the capital, Manila.
Vietnam has protested against the Chinese drill and demanded that China stop the actions it says are a threat to security and maritime safety.
Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Le Hai Binh said in a statement posted late on Monday on the ministry’s Web site that China’s moves seriously violate Vietnamese sovereignty and demanded that Beijing stop the drills.
“Vietnam strongly protests and demanded that China respect Vietnam’s sovereignty, behave responsibly, immediately stop and do not take actions that threaten security, maritime safety in the East Sea or escalate tension in this region,” Binh said.
Additional reporting by AP, AFP
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