China Warns Neighbors on South China Sea

BEIJING — China’s main Communist Party newspaper sharply warned neighboring nations against asserting their claims to territory in the South China Sea in a front-page commentary on Tuesday.

The signed commentary was a response to a news report that the Philippines was building shelter for troops on one of the disputed Spratly Islands, which the Chinese call the Nansha Islands.

The commentary accused the Philippines of “a little trick” by building the shelter shortly after the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations signed a declaration calling for restraint in actions that might inflame territorial disputes. The commentary warned that “those who make a serious strategic miscalculation on this issue will inevitably pay a necessary price.”