Beijing: In a stern warning to the United States, a publication of Chinese state media today said that the Americans will have to pay a price if they meddle in disputes over South China sea.
The editorial in The People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party comes as Beijing ramps up efforts to assert its stance ahead of a ruling by an international tribunal in a case filed by the Philippines challenging China's claims to most of the South China Sea. China is boycotting the case before The Hague-based court and says it will not accept the verdict.
The paper said that bilateral ties and regional stability were at stake and that the US should recognize that "there is a bottom line with every issue, and a price will be paid if that line is crossed.'
China is involved in a number of disputes with many countries over the control of various islands in South China sea.
(With AP inputs)
