China should prepare itself for military confrontation, Chinese state-run newspaper said on Thursday, week before UN Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) will announce the ruling regarding the Manila’s challenge to Beijing’s assertion of sovereignty throughout the West Philippine Sea.
“China should speed up building its military capabilities of strategic deterrence. Even though China cannot keep up with the US militarily in the short-term, it should be able to let the US pay a cost it cannot stand if it intervenes in the South China Sea dispute by force,” the influential Chinese paper said.
The Chinese editorial also said that dispute has become more complicated due to international tribunal threat to China’s territorial sovereignty.
“Washington has deployed two carrier battle groups around the South China Sea, and it wants to send a signal by flexing its muscles: As the biggest powerhouse in the region, it awaits China’s obedience,” it said.
US will probably project more military power to the West Pacific in a bid to press China militarily and politically, the paper added.
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