China on Thursday slammed again the US military's "large-scale, frequent and close-in" surveillance near its territory, saying such reconnaissance activities have seriously hurt Sino-US trust and are the root of air and sea incidents between the two countries.
"US reconnaissance of China has been large scale, high frequency and close. Especially, US counterparts tend to break into the training or maneuver zone preset by Chinese military," said Yang Yujun, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, at a regular press meeting.
He made the remarks in response to questions concerning Pentagon's recent criticism of the Chinese military jet's interception of a US spy plane as "dangerous" and "unprofessional."
On August 19 when a P-3 anti-submarine aircraft and a P-8 patrol aircraft from the US Navy flew into airspace about 220 kilometers east of South China's Hainan Island, a Chinese J-11 fighter jet carried out routine identification and verification over the two naval planes, according to Chinese authorities.
Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said on August 22 that the interception was "very dangerous" and "unprofessional."
"The frequent close-in US reconnaissance is the root of possible air-sea accidents," said Yang on Thursday.
The ongoing exchange of words took place while Chinese military representatives met with US counterparts in Washington from Monday to Friday to discuss code of conduct during encounters on international seas.
According to Yang, the Sino-US meeting was a further step after Chinese-US leaders reached consensus last year.
"The group meeting aims at implementation of the consensus and work to promote establishment of consultation on a military security code of conduct between the two sides covering international waters and air space," Yang noted.
Although no further details have been revealed, analysts said that this new code of conduct could enhance mutual trust between the two countries and reduce the possibilities of further frictions, although a full stop may not be within reach in a short term.
"Two things must be clarified in setting the new code of conduct. Waters and airspace under China's full jurisdiction must be excluded and more detailed rules must be set to clarify the technological problem," Wang Xiaopeng, a maritime border expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.
Zhang Junshe, a research fellow with the Navy Military Academic Research Institute, agreed that the two sides should reach consensus on highly operable rules, such as in what language and under which channel should the two sides communicate when meeting at international waters.
"All this can help the two sides to better understand each other's intention and avoid frictions," Zhang noted.
The Chinese and US navy jointly practiced in June and early August the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea passed in April at the 14th annual meeting of the Western Pacific Naval Symposium.
Vessels from both sides greeted each other and gave notice about their direction and speed in English when they spotted the other side at the Miyako Strait in June, reported the PLA Daily.
The repeated presence of US military at waters and air space under China's full jurisdiction, or even coastal waters, have jeopardized strategic mutual trust, between the two sides, according to Wang.
On Monday, US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki stated that US surveillance near China has always been transparent and China has always been notified beforehand.
In response, Yang at the Chinese defense ministry claimed on Thursday that there had never been any notice from the US about its reconnaissance near China. "I must emphasize that an erroneous action cannot turn innocent, regardless of its transparency or notice."
Chinese military actions have been in line with related law and international practice and Chinese pilots are professional and act out of safety concerns, Yang said. "In comparison with those countries who sent pilots to fly around other countries, we treasure more our personnel and equipment safety."
In 2001, a Chinese pilot was killed when a Chinese jet plane and a US Navy EP-3 surveillance plane collided near Hainan Island.
Jin Canrong, an associate dean of the School of International Studies at the Renmin University of China, said that the workshop meeting is a positive signal to avoid such accidents. Although both sides may not give up on their action mode, "a red line is needed and will be beneficial."
"It remains to be seen whether the code of conduct can come out," Wang noted.
"The US insists on its rebalance to Asia and it always looks at China's normal military operations through tainted glass. The country has switched from the blue water strategy that covers the world to targeting specific countries, which is the actual root of the frictions," Wang said.
Agencies contributed to the story