China's top admiral has said his forces have shown "enormous restraint" in the face of US provocations in the South China Sea, while warning they stand ready to respond to repeated breaches of Chinese sovereignty.
Beijing, which claims almost the entire energy-rich South China Sea through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes yearly, has stepped up a programme of land reclamation and construction in disputed islands and reefs there that has sparked concern in the Asia-Pacific region.
The US has called for a halt to China's artificial island building, and in recent weeks has tried to signal its determination to challenge Beijing over the disputed sea by sending military ships and planes near the islands, moves heavily criticised by China.
Wu Shengli, commander of the People's Liberation Army Navy, said: "The Chinese navy has closely monitored the provocative actions of the United States and issued several warnings, while exercising enormous restraint in the interests of safeguarding the overall situation in bilateral relations.
"If the United States carries out repeated provocations despite China's opposition, we have the ability to defend our national sovereignty and security."
Mr Wu made the comments in a meeting in Beijing with Admiral Scott Swift, commander of the United States' Pacific fleet.
Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei also claim parts of the South China Sea, with China's much smaller neighbours increasingly worried about Beijing's seemingly expansionist role in the area.
China's Defence Ministry said its navy had recently carried out anti-submarine drills in the South China Sea, with submarines, warships and ship-born helicopters.
State television showed warships conducting live-fire drills and troops deploying from amphibious vehicles on to beaches.
It did not say when the exercises happened, nor where exactly. Such drills are not uncommon.
Earlier this week, US President Barack Obama said China must stop the land reclamation which has seen new islands created and an airstrip built on one.
Mr Swift was in Shanghai earlier this week where the USS Stethem, an Arleigh-Burke class destroyer, made a port call.
It was the third visit first to China by a US navy vessel this year and the first since a similar guided missile destroyer, the USS Lassen, angered Beijing by sailing near one of China's man-made islands late last month to challenge the 12-nautical-mile territorial limits China claims around the artificial islands.
The land reclamation, which began in late 2013, has turned submerged reefs into islands. China has said it has "no intention to militarise" those islands, despite the construction of buildings on them.
America has been taken aback by the speed at which China has built the new artificial islands and Washington has responded by sending navy ships and even B-52 bombers into the area in recent weeks.
The message from Washington seems to have been clear, with the US not allowing China to proceed unchallenged with a takeover of one of the busiest and most strategic stretches of water in the world.
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