Special to WorldTribune.com

China on Oct. 15 said that it would be an infringement of Beijing’s sovereignty if the United States follows through with plans to sail warships near artificial islands in the South China Sea.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington recently published satellite images of the artificial islands that show China has reclaimed millions of square meters of land in the Spratly chain and has constructed a number of facilities including three runways, at least one of which is 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) long.

Beijing claims sovereign rights to nearly all territory in the South China Sea.

Washington does not recognize China’s territorial claims and signaled that U.S. ships could sail close to the artificial islands in the coming days or weeks. U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said on Oct. 13 that Washington will continue to send its military “wherever international law allows.”

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Beijing respected freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, but would “firmly oppose infringement of sovereignty under that pretext.”

An editorial in the Global Times was critical of what it called Washington’s “ceaseless provocations and coercion. China mustn’t tolerate rampant U.S. violations of China’s adjacent waters and the skies over those expanding islands.”

The Global Times, which is close to China’s ruling Communist Part, added the military should “be ready to launch countermeasures according to Washington’s level of provocation.”

On Oct. 10, China said it had finished construction on two lighthouses in the disputed area and said it would continue to build civilian and military facilities.

  Ashton Carter, Beijing warns U.S. not to infringe on ‘sovereignty’ of new made-in-China islands, Hua Chunying, Spratly Islands, WorldTribune.com