The White House said it is monitoring a sudden “congregation” of Chinese military at the Hong Kong border following concerns Beijing could step up their hold on demonstrators. A White House official, who wished to remain anonymous, said there was build up of troops as well as armed police from China but did not provide further details.

The official’s claims come as Beijing warned the military would be deployed to maintain “public order” in the formerly British-owned territory.

This comes as China projected images of the national flag on buildings in Hong Kong to demand the city be loyal to Beijing.