Chinese media criticised the US on Thursday for ceaseless provocations

in the South China Sea, with Washington expected to soon send warships
close to artificial islands Beijing has built in disputed waters.
An editorial in the Global Times, which is close to Chinas ruling
Communist party, condemned US coercion, adding: China mustnt
tolerate rampant US violations of Chinas adjacent waters and the skies
over those expanding islands.
It said Chinas military should be ready to launch countermeasures
according to Washingtons level of provocation.
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 the US says threatens freedom of
navigation.

Whats behind Beijings drive to

control the South China Sea?
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Following a meeting of American and Australian officials on Tuesday, the

US defense secretary, Ash Carter, warned Beijing that Washington would
continue to send its military where international law allows, including the
South China Sea.
The remarks were backed by the Australian foreign minister, Julie Bishop,
who said the two countries were on the same page.
Senior officials in Washington have indicated that the US military could
sail by these islands in the coming days or weeks.

The warship or ships would pass within the 19km (12-mile) territorial
limit China claims around the structures, to demonstrate that US
commanders do not recognise it.
Such a move, the Global Times suggested, could be a breach of Chinas
bottom line.
If the US encroaches on Chinas core interests, the Chinese military will
stand up and use force to stop it, the paper warned.
The editorial came after Chinas foreign ministry spokeswoman, Hua
Chunying, said certain countries have been 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 at a regular briefing on Wednesday.
On Saturday, China said work had finished on two lighthouses in the
disputed area and pledged to build more facilities, which it said were
intended to serve civilian as well as military purposes.
Satellite images of the islands published by a Washington-based think
tank show runways that could be used by air force jets.
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.
China has invited Asean defence ministers for a two-day informal summit
in Beijing starting on Thursday, according to the countrys defence
ministry.
Meanwhile, Vietnam has accused China of sinking one of its fishing boats
near disputed islands in the South China Sea that could further raise
tensions between the Communist neighbours.
Phan Huy Hoang, an official in central Quang Ngai province where the
fishermen came from, said on Thursday a Chinese vessel slammed into

the fishing boat with 10 fishermen on board near the Paracels islands on
29 September and sank it.
The fishermen were rescued by another Vietnamese fishing boat and the
case was reported to authorities when the fishermen returned home two
days ago.
Hoang said more than 20 Vietnamese fishing boats had been attacked by
Chinese vessels this year. He said a formal protest would be made to
China.