China Defense Ministry Tells U.S. to Stop Air, Naval Surveillance

Local Editor

China's defense military told the United States to end air and naval surveillance near its borders on Thursday, saying it was damaging relations between the Pacific powers and could lead to "undesirable accidents."

Chinese defense ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said at a monthly briefing that the U.S. should "take concrete measures to decrease close-in reconnaissance activities against China towards a complete stop."

Yang's comments came with Beijing and Washington at odds over an incident recently last week in the skies 220 kilometers [135 miles] off China's Hainan island.

The U.S. said that an armed Chinese fighter jet flew dangerously close to an American military aircraft, while China countered in a ministry statement that the allegations were "totally groundless."

"The location of the incident is 220 kilometers from China's Hainan island," Yang said Thursday. "It is not 220 kilometers from Hawaii in the United States and certainly not 220 kilometers from Florida. So the rights and wrongs of this case are very clear," it said.

Furthermore, Yang said U.S. ships and aircraft had long been engaged in "frequent, wide-range, close-in reconnaissance activities against China."

Such missions "not only damage China's security interests but also damage strategic trust and the bilateral relationship between China and the United States," Yang said.

They could also "possibly lead to undesirable accidents," he added.

Meanwhile, China's military spending and capabilities are increasing while the U.S. military, long a presence in the region, strengthens its defense alliance with Tokyo, which is at odds with Beijing over disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team