US-Sino ties
July 27, 2011
China warned that recent US surveillance flights near the Chinese coast have severely harmed strategic mutual trust and were a major obstacle hindering military ties between the two countries, Chinese state media reported on Wednesday.
The comments came after Taiwanese media reported two Chinese fighter jets attempted to scare off an American U2 reconnaissance plane that was collecting intelligence on China while flying along the Taiwan Strait in late June.
Beijing's defence ministry said the US must discontinue such flights, calling them a "major obstacle" as the two Pacific powers try to put a series of military disputes behind them, China's Global Times newspaper reported.
US to continue flights
Washington has said in the past that its reconnaissance flights have been conducted in international airspace and will continue. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, has vowed to press ahead with surveillance flights near China despite opposition from Beijing.
According to the Global Times, the Chinese Ministry of Defense has responded by saying, "we demand that the US respect China's sovereignty and security interests and take concrete measures to boost a healthy and stable development of military relations."
The comments followed Mullen's visit to China two weeks ago, which was part of efforts to improve ties with the People's Republic. Their ties have been rocky, as China is unhappy with US reconnaissance patrols near its coast and suspicious of US bases in South Korea and Japan.
Sino-US tensions
China's rapid military buildup and territorial disputes in the South China Sea have also sparked concerns in the region. Sino-US military relations have been plagued in recent years by periodic tensions stemming from US plans for arms sales to Taiwan and naval standoffs in the disputed South China Sea.
Self-ruled Taiwan, claimed by China as part of its sovereign territory, has been another major irritant in Sino-US military relations. China has been furious about a 2010 package of US arms sales to Taiwan worth up to 6.4 billion US dollars.
Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory and refuses to abandon the possibility of taking the self-ruled island by force. The two sides split at the end of a civil war.
The United States for its part wants greater military transparency from China over its military modernization, and has warned about China's growing missile and cyber capabilities.
Author: Sarah Berning (AFP, Reuters)
Editor: Manasi Gopalakrishnan