A combined formation of aircraft from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9 pass in formation above the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) in the Philippine Sea on June 18, 2016. Reuters
WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has told Chinese officials that Washington will launch countermeasures if Beijing takes further provocative acts in the South China Sea, U.S. diplomatic sources said Thursday.
If Beijing unilaterally declares an air defense identification zone over the disputed waters, for example, “It will force our hand,” Kerry was quoted by one of the sources as saying during the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue on June 5-7 in Beijing.
Kerry stopped short of saying what kind of countermeasures he has in mind. But he appears to have signaled actions such as strengthening U.S. freedom of navigation operations and the deployment of U.S. military units in the South China Sea.
Kerry also demanded that China abide by a ruling that a U.N.-backed arbitral tribunal will hand down on July 12 regarding the legitimacy of Beijing’s claims to almost the whole South China Sea, according to the sources.
“The world is watching” China’s response to the ruling to be issued by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Kerry was quoted by the source as saying.

The Philippines brought the arbitration case to the court, arguing China’s claims to most of the South China Sea violate the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. Many experts believe the coming ruling will be unfavorable for China.
During the talks in Beijing, Kerry expressed displeasure about China’s lobbying to member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations not to support the arbitration process.
“We know what you are doing — dividing ASEAN,” Kerry was quoted by another source as saying.

http://news.abs-cbn.com/global-filipino/world/07/01/16/us-warns-china-of-countermeasures-if-it-provokes-on-s-china-sea