China's military warns of confrontation over seas

[xchrom]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/04/22/uk-china-usa-philippines-idUKBRE83L00P20120422

(Reuters) - China's military warned the United States on Saturday that U.S.-Philippine military exercises have raised risks of armed confrontation over the disputed South China Sea, in the toughest high-level warning yet after weeks of tension.

China's official Liberation Army Daily warned that recent jostling with the Philippines over disputed seas where both countries have sent ships could boil over into outright conflict, and laid much of the blame at Washington's door.

American and Filipino troops launched two weeks of annual naval drills on April 16 amid the stand-off between Beijing and Manila, who have accused each other of encroaching on sovereign seas near the Scarborough Shoal, west of a former U.S. navy base at Subic Bay.

The joint exercises are held in different seas around the Philippines. The leg that takes place in the South China Sea area, which could be rich in oil and gas and is spanned by busy shipping lanes, starts on Monday.