A Chinese Admiral said recently that his country's military is capable of sinking American aircraft carriers in the East and South China Seas.

Rear Admiral Luo Yuan's comments were made in a speech on Sino-U.S. relations which he gave on December 20, according to News Corp Australia Network.

Luo said that sinking American ships would resolve the ongoing territorial disputes in that part of the world.

'What the United States fears the most is taking casualties,' Admiral Luo said.

He estimated that sinking an American carrier would result in the deaths of 5,000 servicemen and women. Sinking two such ships would double the casualty toll to 10,000.

'We'll see how frightened America is,' he said.

Luo, 67, holds the rank of rear admiral in the People's Liberation Army Navy, though he is acting in an academic capacity rather than as an active service member.

Rear Admiral Luo Yuan's (seen above) comments were made in a speech on Sino-U.S. relations which he gave on December 20

He is the deputy head of the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences.

An author, social commentator, and military theorist, Luo has been known to express hawkish, anti-American views in the past.

In his remarks to the 2018 Military Industry List summit in Shenzhen. Luo boasted of China's weapons capability, which includes anti-ship ballistic and cruise missiles that could hit American carriers.

Luo said that the U.S. was vulnerable and that China should 'use its strength to attack the enemy's shortcomings.'

'Attack wherever the enemy is afraid of being hit,' he said.

'Wherever the enemy is weak…'

China and the U.S. have been at odds for years on a number of geopolitical issues, including Beijing's pressing of territorial claims in the South and East China Seas.

In the South China Sea, the United States has criticized China's construction of islands on tiny reefs and shoals and its installation of military facilities on them, including air strips and docks.

China claims 'irrefutable' sovereignty over most of the South China Sea and the islands in it, and accuses the United States of raising military tension with its navy presence there.

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam all claim parts of the waterway, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes each year.

Taiwan also claims the waters.

Taiwan is another sensitive issue that divides the U.S. and China.

The above image shows U.S. Naval Ship Tippecanoe (center) and the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (right) performing maneuvers with the Japanese destroyer Haruna (left) on October 8 in the Pacific Ocean. China has said it could strike U.S. ships in the South and East China Seas

In Beijing, the island is considered a breakaway province that must be unified with the mainland, even if it means using military force.

But Taiwan, which is formally known as the Republic of China on Taiwan, insists on autonomy.

The democratic province, which receives American weapons and aid, does not want to come under Chinese rule.

Luo warned the U.S. not to intervene in the Taiwan-China dispute.

'If the US naval fleet dares to stop in Taiwan, it is time for the People's Liberation Army to deploy troops to promote national unity on (invade) the island,' he said.

'Achieving China's complete unity is a necessary requirement.

'The achievement of the past 40 years of reform and opening-up has given us the capability and confidence to safeguard our sovereignty.

'Those who are trying to stir up trouble in the South China Sea and Taiwan should be careful about their future.'