Chinese military paper warns of armed conflict

BEIJING - China's top military newspaper warned the United States yesterday that US-Philippine military exercises have fanned risks of armed confrontation over the disputed South China Sea.

The commentary in China's Liberation Army Daily falls short of a formal government statement but marks the strongest high-level comment yet from Beijing about tensions with the Philippines over disputed seas.

On Monday, American and Filipino troops had launched two weeks of annual naval drills amid the stand-off between Beijing and Manila, which have accused each other of encroaching on sovereign seas near the Scarborough Shoal.


"Anyone with clear eyes saw long ago that, behind these drills, is reflected a mentality that will lead the South China Sea issue down a fork in the road towards military confrontation and resolution through armed force," said the commentary in the Chinese paper.

China has territorial disputes with the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan in the South China Sea, which could be rich in oil and gas and is spanned by important shipping lanes.

It detained 21 Vietnamese fishermen for more than a month on a disputed island in the South China Sea before releasing them, according to a report from the Xinhua news agency late Friday.

The fishermen were released after they guaranteed in writing not to "infringe on China's maritime rights, especially fishing, in its territorial waters".

Chinese security forces had intercepted the fishermen's two boats in early March near the Paracel islands, known in China as the Xisha Islands. The Paracels are occupied by China but also claimed by Vietnam. AGENCIES


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