"Resolutely opposing" US joint patrols with the Philippines in the disputed South China Sea, China today said it has "poisoned" regional ties by stoking tensions over the strategic waters.
"This move by the United States and the Philippines has poisoned relations between countries in the region, aggravated regional disputes, triggered tensions and undermined peace and stability in the SCS (South China Sea)," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a media briefing here.
The remarks came as Chinese Defence Ministry said the country's second-ranking general recently visited China's man-made islands in the SCS, in an act of defiance by China amid calls by the US and others to cease construction work that they say is raising tensions in the region.
Lu also challenged Washington to show one case when China interrupted civil navigation in the SCS - a major shipping lane rich in natural resources.
"On the safety and freedom of navigation, some US officials often replace concept in the argument. Are they talking about the safety and freedom of civil navigation for commercial purposes or that of military navigation?" he asked.
"If the answer is for civil navigation, we have asked the US side may times to name one example that the safety and freedom of civil navigation in this region has been affected since the South China Sea disputes emerged over 40 years ago.
"Yet the US has been unable to offer one single example up to now. Perhaps the US refers to the safety and freedom of military navigation, if so, countries of the region and many countries around the world all hope that international laws should be followed in this respect," he said.
Earlier, Chinese Ministry said the country expressed "resolute opposition against infringement of China's sovereignty and security by any country in any form."
"The military exchanges... Should not target a third party, not to mention supporting some countries to provoke China's sovereignty and security, flaring regional contradictions and damaging regional peace and stability," the Foreign Ministry was quoted as saying by state-run China Daily.
"The joint patrols between the United States and the Philippines in the SCS have led to militarisation in the region, which is harmful to regional peace and stability," said a separate statement of China's Defence Ministry.
The statement came after the US said yesterday it had launched joint SCS patrols with the Philippines and that 275 troops and five attack aircraft would remain in the Philippines temporarily.
US Defence Secretary Ash Carter confirmed in Manila yesterday that the US and the Philippines had already conducted such patrols.
Carter today visited the USS John C Stennis warship close to flashpoint waters of the SCS, in America's latest effort to show its commitment to maintaining security in the waters.
Reporting on the US-Philippines joint patrols, Global Times said the "US moves to include India and Philippines in mini NATO".
(Reopens FGN33)
"The US moves around the SCS show that it wants to include India and the Philippines in its mini-NATO framework in the Asia-Pacific region," Liu Feng, a Hainan-based expert on the SCS, told the paper.
China's claim of almost all of SCS is disputed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. They accuse China of illegally reclaiming land in contested areas to create artificial islands with military facilities.
Over half of the world's commercial shipping passes through the Indo-Pacific waterways - including one-third of the world's liquefied natural gas.
The Philippines has taken the disputed UN Convention on the Law of Seas (UNCLOS). The tribunal proceedings were boycotted by China.
Zhang Junshe, a senior researcher at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, has said the US will damage peace in the SCS by calling for joint patrols.
"When Washington calls China's behaviour in the SCS 'coercive', the joint patrols have been a slap in the face. This is sheer coercion against China's peaceful development," the researcher told China Daily.
Carter reported the US confirmation at a news conference with Philippines Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin in Manila.
Reports said the first joint patrol took place in March and a second one took place earlier this month.
Carter has said the US forces will be given access to more military bases in the Philippines than the five announced already.
"The US Army has now returned, has reinforced its military presence in the Philippines and has given rise to militarisation in the SCS region," said China's Ministry of National Defence.
"We urge related parties not to target a third party or affect its interests when carrying out bilateral military cooperation," the Ministry's press office has been quoted as saying by the state-run Global Times.
Carter's visit to the Philippines comes after a three-day visit to India, during which the two countries decided to reach military logistics supply agreement to get access to each other's bases.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Carter, however, made it clear that the agreement, which "will be signed in weeks" or "coming months", did not entail deployment of American troops on Indian soil.
China reacted cautiously to the announcement, saying that India as an influential country pursued independent foreign policy while hinting that it may raise the issue during Parrikar's visit here next week.
Liu added that China should maintain its stance on solving the SCS issue through consultations and negotiations, supported by countries such as Russia and Fiji.
Earlier, the Chinese Ministry summoned envoys of G7 Foreign Ministers and protest over a statement in Hiroshima, expressing concerns over the situations in the East and South China Seas.
