AKIPRESS.COM - Top Chinese military officials used harsh words to counter the U.S.'s criticism of Beijing’s recent moves in disputed regions of the South China Sea, and warned the U.S. of serious consequences if it continued to interfere in regional issues.

Speaking on Sunday at a three-day summit between senior military leaders in Singapore, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, Lt. Gen. Wang Guanzhong, the deputy chief of general staff for the Chinese military, criticized U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s earlier statements, which described China's recent actions in the South China Sea as “destabilizing, unilateral actions” while other senior officials also criticized U.S. interference in the issue, and warned that “strategic mistakes” by U.S. leaders could lead to hostilities between the world's two largest economies.

“Secretary Hagel, in this kind of public space with many people, openly criticized China without reason,” Wang, who also used the forum to censure Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said, according to the New York Times, adding: “Secretary Hagel’s speech is full of encouragement, incitement for the Asia region’s instability giving rise to a disturbance.”

“Over all these years, China has never actively provoked an incident over matters of Chinese sovereignty, territory and maritime boundaries,” Wang said, according to the Times, adding: “It’s always been other parties concerned taking the initiative to provoke trouble, and then the Chinese government has had no choice but to respond.”

Speaking on Saturday at the Singapore summit, Hagel had said: "In recent months, China has undertaken destabilizing, unilateral actions asserting its claims in the South China Sea," adding: "All nations of the region, including China, have a choice: to unite and recommit to a stable regional order, or to walk away from that commitment and risk the peace and security that has benefited millions of people." He also warned that the U.S. would "not look the other way" if nations disobeyed international rules.

Major General Zhu Chenghu, who heads the National Defense University of the People’s Liberation Army, said in an interview, according to the Wall Street Journal: "The Americans are making very, very important strategic mistakes right now," adding: "If you take China as an enemy, China will absolutely become the enemy of the U.S."