Amid Beijing's display of military might in the South China Sea, Chinese defense experts are saying that China will not start a war in the region in a bid to recover islands illegally under the control of other countries.

"We will not initiate military conflict to recover islands illegally occupied by other countries," said Wu Shicun, the former foreign affairs chief of Hainan province, an island in the South China Sea.

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Wu, president of the National Institute of South China Sea Studies and the unofficial spokesperson on the issue for the government, said that Beijing's position has always been to initiate negotiations and dialogues with claimant countries to resolve the territorial and maritime disputes.

Spratlys group of Islands

China is claiming soverignty over almost all of the South China Sea, including reclaimed islets and reefs in the Spratlys, where Beijing has built airstrips, seaports, and other facilities.

The Spratlys Group of Islands is believed to have large deposits of gas and oil reserves. The Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei, and Malaysia have overlapping claims in the disputed islands.

The United States, together with the claimant countries, have condemned China for building 'illegal structures' on the disputed islands with Washington vowing to defend the freedom of navigation through the waters

Around $5 trillion of maritime trade passes through the South China Sea yearly.                     

War unlikely           

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter has been quoted as saying  that the US will operate within the bounds of international laws as what they have been doing worldwide and China is no exception.

A senior foreign policy adviser to the Chinese government Shi Yinhong agreed with Wu that Beijing is highly unlikely to  instigate hostilities with other countries in the South China Sea region.

"Other countries have also said the same, and this is all helpful for peace and stability in the South China Sea," Shi  said.

Ease tensions

Shi said China will be taking measures to lower the tensions with the US and the claimant countries and will be adopting a more diplomatic tack in dealing with the existing dispute.

Wu, while insisting that China will not be starting an 'unprovoked war," defended Beijing's decision to build facilities in the disputed Spratlys.

Chinese sovereignty

He  said China was well within its rights and sovereign power to build the military facilities on the Spratlys in order to protect Chinese people and to secure important installations.

"Any ordinary person can tell that these tiny outposts cannot play a major role in any military conflict," he pointed out.

Wu said China will be open to striking a 'joint development' deal with other countries as its way of sharing oil and gas reserves in the islands under their control.

TagsSpratlys Group of Islands, Chinese sovereignty, 'unprovoked war', China's military facilities, 'joint development