China has come out against the Japan's intention to patrol the South China Sea, saying that the United States has to "stop sending wrong signals" on the disputed area.
During the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Washington, US President Barack Obama claimed that China is "flexing their muscles" in the South China Sea. A summit between US and Japanese defense officials in New York discussed military cooperation.
"America and Japan are not parties to the South China Sea issue. They should be objective and impartial, and refrain from words and deeds that may complicate the dispute and sabotage regional peace and stability," China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Wednesday.
"The world has been witnessing that Uncle Sam's intervention rarely brings about peace and stability. However, Japan's involvement will not only help its master fight even more bloody battles, but will escalate tensions in those regions as the samurai begins sharpening his old blood-stained sword," Xinhua stated in a commentary.
The Chinese ruling Communist Party's official newspaper People's Daily said that Obama and Shinzo Abe's joint statements were self-contradictory:
"Such preposterous rhetoric betrayed the two's attempt to muddy the waters for their ulterior calculation, and contradicted their following claims that their alliance should not 'be seen as a provocation' and they 'welcome China's peaceful rise'"
China's Foreign Ministry added that China's current development of South China Sea islands is completely lawful and justified.