- Sputnik International
Asia
Find top stories and features from Asia and the Pacific region. Keep updated on major political stories and analyses from Asia and the Pacific. All you want to know about China, Japan, North and South Korea, India and Pakistan, Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Beijing’s Ominous Threat to Washington Over South China Sea: ‘Be Careful’

© AP Photo / Pu HaiyangChina is outfitting new naval destroyers with their potent new anti-ship missiles, which pose serious challenges to US naval defenses.
China is outfitting new naval destroyers with their potent new anti-ship missiles, which pose serious challenges to US naval defenses. - Sputnik International
Subscribe
Tensions continue to mount between the US and China with an escalation of aggressive posturing on both sides.

On Thursday, Beijing’s Defense Ministry issued a veiled warning to the US, regarding naval activity in the South China Sea and a newly signed agreement between the US and the Philippines: "be careful."

US President Barack Obama - Sputnik International
World
Xi Jinping to Meet Obama as Rumors Swirl That Chinese Regime May Collapse

Tensions have risen between the US and China in recent months. There have been disputes over China’s handling of the North Korean sanctions regime, with American officials arguing that Beijing failed to implement the agreed-upon measures fully, and posturing by both sides regarding the long simmering dispute over territories in the South China Sea.

Earlier this month, the Philippines agreed to provide US forces access to five military bases, including some in the disputed South China Sea territories, at a time when China has moved to claim these territories by introducing military construction and civilian travel to several of the Spratly and Paracel Islands.

urkish security personnel struggle to take a sign away from protesters in front of the Brookings Institute before the arrival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Washington. - Sputnik International
Erdogan’s Security Team Thinks They Have Jurisdiction in Washington, DC

Growing tensions between Beijing and Washington date to October 2015, when the US carried out the first of two recent high-profile "freedom of navigation" operations, in which US warships sailed within 12 nautical miles of islets in the South China Sea claimed by China.

When questioned about these recent US naval operations, Yang Yujan, the Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman said, "As for the US ships which came, I can only suggest they be careful."

The US has countered that the naval operations are necessary to maintain a balancing presence in the region, accusing China of having dispatched ballistic missiles to the disputed islands in an effort to militarize the area.

Turkish soldiers patrol in Sur district, which is partially under curfew, in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey February 26, 2016 - Sputnik International
Biden to Erdogan: Kurdish PKK Remains Target in US Battle Against Terrorism

Yang says that the United States is guilty of imperialism and militarism in the region, not China. "The United States has come back and is reinforcing its military presence in this region and promoting militarization in the South China Sea," he stated.

As relations continue to deteriorate between the countries, America’s Cold War revivalists are preparing to add China to their adversary list. 

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала