Lieutenant General Wang Guanzhong, the deputy chief of the general staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), said on Sunday that the remarks by Abe and Hagel that accused China of destabilizing regional waters were “unacceptable.”

“The Chinese delegation…have this feeling that the speeches of Mr. Abe and Mr. Hagel are a provocative action against China,” Wang said during an Asian security forum in Singapore.

On Friday, Abe opened the forum, the Shangri-La Dialogue, calling on countries to respect the rule of law. The comments apparently referred to Tokyo’s disputes with China over a group of islands in the South and East China seas.

On Saturday, Hagel warned Beijing against “destabilizing actions” in the South China Sea and underlined a number of alleged moves against Vietnam and the Philippines.

The Chinese military official also said Abe and Hagel’s remarks were “simply unimaginable” and were not “in the spirit of this Shangri-La Dialogue.”

«The speeches made by Mr. Abe and Mr. Hagel gave me the impression that they coordinated with each other, they supported each other, they encouraged each other and they took the advantage of speaking first…and staged provocative actions and challenges against China,” Wang added.

Tensions between Japan and China intensified in 2013 after Beijing imposed an Air Defense Identification Zone above disputed islands in the East China Sea.

The Chinese move was further censured by Tokyo’s major ally, Washington.

The Philippines is also involved in a territorial dispute with China over a number of islands and shoals in the South China Sea. China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, which is also claimed in part by Brunei, Vietnam, and Malaysia. The disputed waters are believed to hold vast reserves of oil and gas.

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