The US should show respect to China as a major power, said a state-run Chinese daily which described as "quite insulting" that China keeps being reprimanded by the US when it is deploying basic military facilities.
An editorial "US push leaves China no wiggle room" in the Global Times on Wednesday said that before Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's three-day visit to the US hyperbole about China's "militarization" of islands in the South China Sea was ramping up among US media.
The Washington Post said China may be building a new high-frequency radar system on Huayang Reef.
Chinese authorities have not confirmed the authenticity of the installation of the radar system.
"If it is real, we think China is in a legitimate position to conduct this move, even if it is for military purposes. China has the right to build radar systems on its own soil to discover and track possible threats -- a way to defend national security instead of an aggressive act. It has nothing to do with the more assertive militarization," said the daily.
It added that the "true examples of militarization can be found in Okinawa and Guam, which are heavily garrisoned by the US, whose projection of power can extend in a radius of thousands of kilometres".
"They serve Washington's military hegemony as pivots. China meanwhile only updates its facilities on these islands from anti-aircraft artillery to HQ-9 missiles, and from telescopes to radar. They are solely for defense."
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It wondered that if Washington keeps regarding these normal upgrades and deployments of military forces as a threat, and sends warships to the West Pacific, "does it expect China to respond with our bare hands?"
"The US should show respect to China as a major power, recognizing its basic rights to grow in strength. The US should recalibrate its parameters while observing China," the editorial added.
The daily went on to say that it is "quite insulting that China, the second-largest economy, keeps being reprimanded by the US as it is deploying basic military facilities".
"If the US refuses to change its perspective, China has no alternative but to continue in this way in hopes that it will eventually force the US to change its mind."
It added that China should warn the US that more military installations will be set up in response to Washington's provocations.
"As an outsider, Washington is stirring choppy waters in the region, and framing China as a peace breaker.
"Actually, China's restraint, rationality and compliance with international laws are the major reason that the South China Sea can sustain peace through these years. What a mischievous Washington aims for is a strategic game with a rising China."