China's Defense Ministry is pointing the finger at the United States as being responsible for a series of close encounters between Chinese and US jets along China's coastline.
It is urging the United States to reduce and ultimately stop such close-in reconnaissance flights against China.
Su Yi has more.
The new comments follow a close encounter last week between a Chinese fighter jet and a US Navy reconnaissance plane 220 kilometers off China's Hainan Island.
The US government has issued public complaints over the incident.
Defense ministry spokesperson Yang Yujun rejected U.S. accusations that the Chinese pilot acted in a dangerous and uNPRofessional manner.
"The Chinese pilot's actions were professional and took safety into consideration. As a developing country, China values its aircraft and pilots' lives, certainly compared to some countries that keep on sending military pilots to fly around another country's territory."
The Chinese Defense Ministry says the US military has been conducting frequent reconnaissance missions along China's coast, which it says hampers national security and bilateral trust.
At a briefing earlier this week, U.S. Department of State Spokesperson Jen Psaki sidestepped a question about possible Chinese surveillance flights near U.S. territory.
"QUESTION: Is it okay if China send their fighter jets to Hawaii transparently? Is that okay with you? MS. PSAKI: I'm just not going to speculate on steps that are taken. This was a specific incident we expressed concerns about. We expressed them directly to the Chinese. I think I'm going to leave it at that."
Psaki insists that U.S. surveillance flights are transparent and the U.S. has informed China about its plans.
But Chinese Defense Ministry Spokesperson Yang Yujun said the U.S. has never informed China about its close-in surveillance flights. He insists that even if there is transparency, it is not justification for such reconnaissance flights.
"If a behavior is wrong, whether it is transparent, or whether the government informs other countries, it is wrong."
The two militaries are meeting in Washington this week to discuss standards of behavior for air and maritime activities.
For CRI, I'm Su Yi.
