29 August 2014

News Story: China Defense Ministry Tells US To Stop 'Close-in' Surveillance


By Kelly OLSEN

<< This image of the Chinese J-11B fighter was taken from a US P-8A Poseidon aircraft over the South China Sea on Aug. 19. / US Defense Department 

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

The US should "take concrete measures to decrease close-in reconnaissance activities against China towards a complete stop," defense ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said at a monthly briefing.

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

The US said that an armed Chinese fighter jet flew dangerously close to a US military aircraft, while China countered in a ministry statement carried on state media that the allegations were "totally groundless".

Read the full story at DefenseNews