CHINA’S state-run media warned the United States on Friday there would be war if it moved to block China’s access to islands in the contested West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). “Unless Washington plans to wage a large-scale war in the South China Sea, any other approaches to prevent Chinese access to the islands will be foolish,” the Global Times said in an editorial. China Daily took a similar line, saying: “It would set a course for devastating confrontation between China and the US. China has irreversibly destroyed South China Sea reefs and turned them into artificial islets, despite overlapping claims by the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan. Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. told reporters in Manila earlier this week a legally binding framework for the code of conduct of Southeast Asian nations and China in the South China Sea would be completed in the middle of the year.

Source: Manila Times January 13, 2017 17:14 UTC