China should be prepared for military confrontation in the South China Sea, a local publication said on Tuesday.

The statement comes a week before the international court's ruling over the maritime dispute between Beijing and the Philippines. 

China has maintained that nearly the entire resource-rich South China Sea stretch is its territory despite claims from other Southeast Asian countries including Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

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Because of China's advancements in the waterway, tensions are high between Beijing and the United States, which has signed defense treaties with several allies in the region.

On Tuesday, China kicked off a week of naval exercises and drills in the waters around the Paracel Islands ahead of the July 12 arbitration court ruling on a case brought on by Philippines, which has challenged China's claims in the maritime region.

Beijing has refused to participate in the court's proceedings, which it has described as illegitimate, and has reiterated that it will not accept the court's decision, which is expected to come in favor of Philippines.

Chinese newspaper the Global Times, which is owned by the ruling Communist Party's People's Daily group, said that China should get a move on the build-up of its defense capabilities and "must be prepared for any military confrontation."

"Even though China cannot keep up with the US militarily in the short-term, it should be able to let the US pay a cost it cannot stand if it intervenes in the South China Sea dispute by force," the paper added. 

Over the last few years, China has ramped up development in the disputed region, including the construction of facilities with military capabilities.

Manila filed its complaint against China in early 2013, saying that after 17 years of negotiations it had dissipated all the political and diplomatic avenues to reach a settlement with its neighbors.

The U.S. and Philippines used the arbitration case to depict China in poor light and as "an outcast from a rules-based international community", said an editorial in the local publication, which added that it would be "naïve" for China to "swallow the bitter pill of humiliation."

TagsSouth China Sea, South China Sea Dispute, china, China military confrontation, Philippines, arbitration court ruling, US, The Hague