Beijing has cast US-led military deployments as the “primary threat” to peace in the South China Sea, hitting back at a multinational declaration that marked the 10th anniversary of an arbitral ruling it does not recognise.In a strongly worded statement on Sunday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asserted China’s “historic rights” while condemning “militarising and coercive behaviour” from the US and its allies as the “foremost challenge currently facing the South China Sea”.“It is the continuous military deployments, reckless manoeuvres, and instigations by external powers like the United States that constitute the primary threat to regional stability,” the statement said.“China will take decisive measures to defend its rights and interests in a reasonable, lawful, professional and restrained manner in response to infringements and provocations by relevant countries.”Beijing also traded barbs with Tokyo over the matter in a separate statement, after a Japanese minister criticised its stance on the ruling.Earlier on Sunday, a 14-nation coalition led by the United States and the Philippines issued a joint statement reaffirming their “unwavering commitment” to a rules-based, free and open Indo-Pacific, marking a decade since an international tribunal at The Hague invalidated most of Beijing’s South China Sea claims.Other signatories to the statement included US allies such as Japan, Australia and Britain.