A possible military mission into the South China Sea by the United States prompted China to indicate a warning, saying it would “firmly oppose” any attempt of transgression into its territory. The response is a strong one from China’s end following reports of the U.S. intervention into the disputed artificial islands, China created on the South China Sea.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said that Washington would traverse any territory, including the South China Sea, if the international law so permits. The statement was made following a two-hour meeting on Tuesday in Boston with the U.S. and Australian foreign and defence ministers.

China displayed a firm response to the remark, saying that it enjoys complete sovereignty over certain parts of the South China Sea, which include artificial islands and its surrounding waters. It added it is not China that has militarised the region.

"I want to point out that some countries have recently flexed their military muscles again and again in the South China Sea," the Global Times quoted Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying as saying during a news briefing on Wednesday. "This is the biggest factor in the militarisation of the South China Sea. We hope the relevant countries cease hyping up the South China Sea issue and scrupulously abide by their promises not to take sides on the territorial disputes."

The statement came following reports by the New York Times that the U.S. is negotiating with its allies in Asia over plans to set out a military patrol near the artificial islands and its surrounding waters.

The South China Sea is an important passage-way for ships through which a third of the world’s oil is traded. China’s claim over the most of the South China Sea has been the cause of serious dispute in the region, raising fears of clashes. Tensions have escalated since China started building artificial islands on the sea in June, which are reportedly well equipped with military capacities and are feared to pose threats to free movement of vessels through the region.

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