(ETH) – While the World has the spotlight shining on the Mideast with the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, China has just issued a chilling warning and some are calling it the deadliest threat yet as Beijing has just warned that the US will be “defeated” if the two superpowers come to war amid a tense stand-off over the South China Sea and Taiwan.

The threat reportedly came from China’s Global Times, which is an editorial in direct response to joint military drills carried out by the US. These US joined drills took place with Japan, Australia, and France in an intended show of force against China.

Instead of backing down, China now appears to have been rattled, prompting a fierce rebuke in Beijing’s state-run newspapers asserting confidence in Chinese military superiority. RT America’s Alex Mihailovich said: “The Global Times put out an editorial saying the US would be defeated if any conflict broke out in the South China Sea.

“Many see the drills as a show of force aimed at China as Japan works towards consolidating military alliances in an effort to deter its neighboring superpower “However the drills appeared to irritate China rather than contain it.” He went further to state “According to the Global Times editorial, the US will be defeated if it engages in combat with China in its neighboring waters.”