War Between China and Japan? Chinese Military Warns About Foreign Spying As South China Sea Conflict Heats Up

The Chinese military promised to increase counter reconnaissance efforts after warning Tuesday that foreign spying has become a "huge security threat." A commentary published in the daily newspaper of China's People's Liberation Army said a variety of foreign spying incidents should leave China prepared to "throw punches" in order to defend itself, the South China Morning Post reported.

"We cannot afford to ignore it," the commentary said of foreign spying efforts. "Otherwise, if war were to break out tomorrow, intelligence would be our Achilles heal."

The warning comes just a month after China returned an underwater drone seized in the South China Sea to the U.S. Many countries have competing claims to the South China Sea, including China, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan and the Philippines.

The commentary mentioned the drone incident as an example of foreign spying, but didn't limit its blame for foreign spying to just the U.S. Japanese news agency Kyodo published photographs of a classified Chinese aircraft carrier under construction in the port city of Dalian in December, drawing the ire of Chinese state media. The Chinese military also claimed that foreign militaries were beginning to build a "broad-spectrum spying network" that would share intelligence on China, the South China Morning Post said.

Other countries in the region see China's military expansion in the South China Sea and elsewhere as a threat. The Philippines' defense minister said Tuesday China's installation of weapons on artificial islands in the South China Sea was "very troubling." The installations "do not square with the Chinese government's rhetoric that its purpose is peaceful and friendly," defense minister Delfin Lorenzana said.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday he would sell Vietnam six new patrol boats. The deal is widely seen as an effort to help Vietnam combat Chinese ambitions in the South China Sea.