CCTV9英语新闻：China calls US 'freedom of navigation' a provocation

China's defense ministry has said it will closely monitor the waters and airspace of the South China Sea. A spokesman also said that facts concerning its sovereignty over the area would not be changed, when answering a question regarding media reports which say the United States is to begin more action to assert what it calls "freedom of navigation".

 

"The so-called navigational freedom destabilises regional stability, it has become an excuse for the US to intervene in the disputes in the South China Sea, it is a provocation to China politically and militarily. We will take any necessary measures. The rising frequency of US fleets will not change the fact that islands and surrounding waters in the South China Sea belong to China, the fact that China is developing to be stronger, and the determination of the People's Liberation Army to safeguard China's sovereignty," Chinese defense minsitry spokesman Wu Qian said.