China Warns The U.S. That They Are Ready To Retaliate If US ‘Stirs Up Any Conflict’ In South China Sea

CNBC: China says it's ready if US ‘stirs up any conflict’ in South China Sea

BEIJING — China's attempts to claim a nearly 1.4-million-square-mile swathe of open ocean are without precedent and probably without legal merit, but Beijing continues to assert its right to the economically critical zone — and increasingly puts its claims in military terms.

Speaking to a small group of reporters in Beijing on Thursday, a high-ranking Chinese official made his warning clear: The United States should not provoke China in the South China Sea without expecting retaliation.

"The Chinese people do not want to have war, so we will be opposed to [the] U.S. if it stirs up any conflict," said Liu Zhenmin, vice minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "Of course, if the Korean War or Vietnam War are replayed, then we will have to defend ourselves."

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WNU Editor: The White House is now downplaying the recent interception of a U.S. spy plane by Chinese fighters .... White House downplays China’s intercept of U.S. Navy plane (Washington Times).

More News On Chinese Warnings To The U.S. On The South China Sea

China tells US to cool its jets over South China Sea -- DW
China Demands US Halt Recon Flights Along Coast -- VOA
Row erupts after Chinese fighter jets intercept US military plane over South China Sea -- The Telegraph
China, Denying Close Encounter With American Plane, Points Finger at U.S. -- NYT
US, not China, militarising the South China Sea: FM -- Al Jazeera