--- description: U.S. Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson's remarks on the South China Sea have caused fury in Beijing title: Chinese Media to Rex Tillerson: 'Prepare for Military Clash' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcaa4a883fede827b/6988b5768e060137e2468cd9/rtx2yj1o.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Chinese Media Has Told Rex Tillerson to 'Prepare for a Military Clash' ## Video: Rex Tillerson Calls Russia a ‘Danger’ to the Nation [Watch (HLS stream): Rex Tillerson Calls Russia a ‘Danger’ to the Nation](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/DP3hxBhw.m3u8) (0:52)  _Published 2017-01-11. He said recent Russian actions "disregarded American interests"_  by [Charlie Campbell / Beijing](/author/charlie-campbell/)  ## Charlie Campbell / Beijing Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Editor at Large Jan 13, 2017 4:44 AM CUT  Rex Tillerson, the former chairman and chief executive officer of ExxonMobil, testifies during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing to become U.S. Secretary of State on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 11, 2017 Rex Tillerson, the former chairman and chief executive officer of ExxonMobil, testifies during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing to become U.S. Secretary of State on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 11, 2017Kevin Lamarque—Reuters  by [Charlie Campbell / Beijing](/author/charlie-campbell/)  ## Charlie Campbell / Beijing Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Editor at Large Jan 13, 2017 4:44 AM CUT China’s state media has [responded forcefully](http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1028568.shtml "undefined") to suggestions by U.S. Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson that [China should be barred](http://time.com/4632393/donald-trump-rex-tillerson-south-china-sea/ "undefined") from the artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea, [warning](http://m.chinadaily.com.cn/en/2017-01/12/content%5F27938521.htm "undefined") that any such attempt would force a “devastating confrontation” and both sides should “prepare for a military clash.” On Wednesday, Tillerson told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Beijing’s ongoing island-building strategy in the busy waterway — through which $5 trillion of trade passes annually — was illegal and “akin to Russia’s taking of Crimea.” “We’re going to have to send China a clear signal that, first, the island-building stops,” the former ExxonMobil CEO told the hearing. “And second, your access to those islands also is not going to be allowed.” Beijing claims sovereignty over almost 90% of the South China Sea, competing with neighbors Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei, who also claim parts of the waterway. In a bid to bolster its presence, China has transformed seven reefs and islets through reclamation into artificial islands. The mini fortresses now host antiaircraft guns and other weaponry, [according](http://time.com/4603134/south-china-sea-beijing-weapons/ "undefined") to recent analysis. Although a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman declined to answer a journalist’s question about possible responses to American naval incursions into the vital trade corridor, China’s notoriously strident state media pulled no punches. “Tillerson’s statements regarding the islands in the South China Sea are far from professional,” the Chinese Communist Party–linked _Global Times_ declared in an editorial on Friday. “If Trump’s diplomatic team shapes future Sino-U.S. ties as it is doing now, the two sides had better prepare for a military clash.” The state-backed _China Daily_ described Tillerson’s remarks as “a mishmash of naivety, shortsightedness, worn-out prejudices, and unrealistic political fantasies. Should he act on them in the real world, it would be disastrous \[and\] set a course for devastating confrontation between China and the U.S.” Although Donald Trump has been fiercely critical of China during his campaign, his attacks have typically focused on alleged unfair trade practices that the U.S. President-elect claims have “stolen” American jobs. The Trump Administration’s trade team has been stocked with outspoken China trade hawks, such as Peter Navarro and Robert Lighthizer. Given that Trump campaigned on drawing down expensive military commitments overseas, many believed any confrontation between the U.S. and China would be limited to commerce, and that the South China Sea would be less of a hot spot than it has been under the Obama Administration, which stepped up naval patrols in the region. However, Zhu Feng, professor of international relations at Nanjing University, says the South China Sea will now remain an “essential component” of Washington’s Asia-Pacific security strategy. “The entire U.S.-China relationship is a minefield,” he tells TIME. “There’s not one place to stick your foot.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4634078/rex-tillerson-south-china-sea-donald-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4634078/rex-tillerson-south-china-sea-donald-trump/"},"headline":"Chinese Media Has Told Rex Tillerson to 'Prepare for a Military Clash'","datePublished":"2017-01-13T04:44:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:42:53.897Z","description":"The U.S. Secretary of State nominee has provoked fury with his hawkish remarks on the South China Sea","url":"https://time.com/4634078/rex-tillerson-south-china-sea-donald-trump/","keywords":["China","war","conflict","South China Sea","Donald Trump","secretary of state","Rex Tillerson"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcaa4a883fede827b/6988b5768e060137e2468cd9/rtx2yj1o.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlie Campbell / Beijing"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcaa4a883fede827b/6988b5768e060137e2468cd9/rtx2yj1o.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Rex Tillerson testifies during his confirmation hearing to become U.S. Secretary of State","caption":"Rex Tillerson testifies during his confirmation hearing to become U.S. Secretary of State","creditText":"Kevin Lamarque—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4634078/rex-tillerson-south-china-sea-donald-trump/","name":"Chinese Media Has Told Rex Tillerson to 'Prepare for a Military Clash'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Rex Tillerson Calls Russia a ‘Danger’ to the Nation","description":"He said recent Russian actions \"disregarded American interests\"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/DP3hxBhw/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-01-11T17:30:44.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/DP3hxBhw.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4634078/rex-tillerson-south-china-sea-donald-trump/","duration":"PT52S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4634078/rex-tillerson-south-china-sea-donald-trump/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```