The United States and China exchanged accusations amid rising military tensions between the world's two largest economies, with the US Secretary of Defense pledging not to yield an inch in the Pacific and Beijing saying Washington is risking the lives of soldiers, Reuters reported.

Multiple disagreements between the two countries touch on issues such as technology, human rights, and China's military activity in the disputed South China Sea, with each side blaming the other for deliberately provocative behavior.

On Thursday, US Navy warship conducted a routine operation near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, which is often criticized by Beijing as a threat to its sovereignty.

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said 'the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) wanted Beijing to project power globally via its military.'

“To advance the CCP’s agenda, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) continues to pursue an aggressive modernization plan to achieve a world class military by the middle of the century,” Esper said.

“This will undoubtedly involve the PLA’s provocative behavior in the South and East China Seas, and anywhere else the Chinese government has deemed critical to its interests.”

However, according to Esper, the United States wanted to “hopefully continue to work with the People’s Republic of China to get them back on a trajectory that is more aligned with the international rules based order.”

Speaking before a regional tour, Esper described the Indo-Pacific as the epicenter of a “great power competition with China.”

He added, “We’re not going to cede this region, an inch of ground if you will, to another country, any other country that thinks their form of government, their views on human rights, their views on sovereignty, their views on freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, all those things, that somehow that’s better than what many of us share.”

In Beijing, China’s Defense Ministry shot back at “certain U.S. politicians” it said were damaging Sino-U.S. military ties in the run-up to the November election for their own selfish gain, even seeking to create military clashes.

“This kind of behavior puts the lives of frontline officers and soldiers on both sides at risk,” spokesman Wu Qian told reporters on Thursday.