China's naval commander told his U.S. counterpart that a minor incident could spark war in the South China Sea if the United States did not stop its "provocative acts" in the disputed waterway, the Chinese navy said on Friday.
Adm. Wu Shengli made the comments to the U.S. chief of naval operations, Adm. John Richardson, during a video teleconference on Thursday, according to a Chinese naval statement.
The two officers held talks after a U.S. warship sailed within 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) of one of Beijing's man-made islands in the contested Spratly archipelago on Tuesday.