China will 'crush' foreign encroachment in South China Sea, says military official

China will "crush" any foreign incursion into its sovereign territory, including in the South China Sea, a senior Beijing military official said on Thursday on the sidelines of a defense forum.

"We hope that the South China Sea will remain a sea of peace," Chinese army Lieutenant General He Lei told a small group of journalists, including AFP, adding: "If the United States moves its pawns behind the scenes... we in the Chinese People's Liberation Army will resolutely crush any foreign hostile encroachment."

AFP