Beijing has issued a threat to British warships and hopes to "practice" its military skills on British warships as they sail through the disputed South China Sea.
China's Defence Ministry said on Thursday that its military would take "every necessary measure to counter foreign warships that provoke in the South China Sea".
It came after a state-affiliated tabloid, Global Times, warned that Beijing's navy would react to any "improper acts" as the British fleet, including aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, sails through the region.
Global Times suggested the British ships would face a hostile welcome, with China planning its own exercises in two separate parts of the sea.
The state mouthpiece, citing an unnamed military expert, reported: "The PLA [People's Liberation Army] will closely monitor the UK warships' activities, stand ready to deal with any improper acts, and also see this as a chance for practise and for studying the UK's latest warships up close.
Experts said they expect relationships between China and the UK to deteriorate further after the British fleet entered the South China Sea on Monday.
Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, wrote in an online article: "China receives friends with good wine and deals with wolves with a shotgun."
Ships from the UK’s Carrier Strike Group, led by HMS Queen Elizabeth, performed an exercise with the Singapore's navy on Monday.
The Royal Navy's largest and most powerful vessel has been joined by HMS Kent, a Type 23 anti-submarine frigate, and Dutch and American ships during the Strike Group's maiden deployment.
The Strike Group set off in May and carried out operations and engagements Mediterranean before sailing to the Indo-Pacific.
It will sail through the South China Sea again and take part in multinational exercises with allies in the Philippine Sea, and return to Singapore later in the year, the Royal Navy said.
The group will sail more than 26,000 nautical miles and engage with 40 countries during its voyage.
Earlier this month, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told the Times that regardless of China’s claim to most of the South China Sea, the fleet will sail on any route defined as legitimate under international law.
Despite growing Chinese military assertiveness in the region, Mr Wallace said Britain had a “duty” to insist on freedom of navigation in international waters, including the strategic waterway which sees £3 trillion of trade pass through it every year.
“It’s no secret that China shadows and challenges ships transiting international waters on very legitimate routes,” Mr Wallace told the paper.
“We will respect China and we hope that China respects us … we will sail where international law allows.”
Mr Wallace declined to say whether the fleet would breach the 12 mile zone around military bases China has built on disputed rocks in the South China Sea.
US warships and aircraft have passed close to the bases in the past, provoking warnings from Chinese vessels and angry responses from Beijing.
China has continued to strengthen artificial islands equipped with secured ports, airstrips and surface-to-air-missiles.
Mr Wallace also told The Times the West must work to avoid a Cold War in the region at a time when the world was in an “anxious” state, but that he felt conflict was still only a remote possibility.
“The world is a more anxious place, and as a result more on edge,” he said.
“There is definitely a danger that that anxiousness tips into more aggressive measures, but I think we are still some way off a military conflict in Asia.”
