US accusation of South China Sea militarisation is 'ridiculous': China

The United States' claims thatChinais militarising theSouthChinaSeaare "ridiculous",Chinasaid on Thursday, after USDefense Secretary Jim Mattis said Washington would continue to confront Beijing's actions in the disputed waterways.

Mattis said on Tuesday that the United States would push back against what it sees asChina's militarisationof islands in theSouthChinaSea, despite drawing condemnation from Beijing for an operation in the region over the weekend.

"The United States military presence in theSouthChinaSeais greater than that ofChinaand other countries that surround theseas combined," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular briefing.

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Hua also questioned whether the USNavy "freedom of navigation" operations were really about preserving the right for ships to sail through the region or an attempt to maintain hegemony.

"This sounds like a case of a thief crying 'stop thief' to cover their misdeeds," she added.

The Global Times, a popular state-backed Chinese tabloid that does not reflect official policy, said in an editorial on Thursday thatChinamust prepare to forcefully respond to any "extreme" interference in theSouthChinaSeaby the United States.

"Aside from deploying defensive weapons on the Spratly Islands,Chinashould build a powerful deterrence system, including an aerial base and a roving naval force and base," the paper said.

Reuters first reported that two USNavy warships sailed nearSouthChinaSeaislands claimed byChinaon Sunday, prompting anger in Beijing, which claims most of the strategic waters where Chinese, Japanese and someSoutheast Asian navies operate.

While the Sunday operation had been planned months in advance, and similar operations have become routine, it comes at a sensitive time and days after the Pentagon withdrew an invitation to Chinato attend a major US-hosted naval drill.

Pentagon officials have long complained thatChinahas not been candid enough about its rapid military build-up andusingSouthChinaSeaislands to gather intelligence.

Recent satellite photographs showedChinaappeared to have deployed truck-mounted surface-to-air missiles or anti-ship cruise missiles at Woody Island.

Earlier this month,China's air force landed bombers on disputed islands and reefs in theSouthChinaSeaas part of a training exercise in the region.

Mattis is expected to have strong words forChinawhen he travels to Singapore for the Shangri-la Dialogue, a security forum, later this week.