The US National Security Council (NSC) has ordered the Pentagon to tone down its way of words on China and banned them from publicly using the phrase "great power competition" in describing the military challenges posed by China's People's Liberation Army (PLA).

Chinese analysts said on Thursday that the gag order issued over the weekend showed Washington's desire to stabilize ties with China in the final months before President Barack Obama steps down from the presidency.

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The analysts said changing tack on the US rhetoric on Chinese military challenges was a sure sign that the White House was exerting efforts in easing its tensions with Beijing over their dispute in the South China Sea.

Gag order

In a report published this week in the US Navy Times, it said the NSC had issued a gag order on Pentagon leaders over the weekend urging them to use less agitating language on China and ordering them to strike out the phrase ' 'great power competition' in all its future public and private communications.

The publication said President Obama found the phrase 'inflammatory' saying the term ' inaccurately framed the US and China as on a collision course.'

Despite such change in China rhetoric, military experts warned that China's massive claims to the East and South China Seas as well as its continuous artificial island building and construction of military facilities were all against  US interests, the report said.

Rhetoric

Su Hao, an international relations professor at China Foreign Affairs University, said the rhetoric of Pentagon officials including US Defense Secretary Ash Carter often came across as hawkish and pitted Washington against Beijing.

"China-US relations seem to have been hijacked by the South China Sea issues, or by the military, which does not fairly describe the comprehensiveness of the bilateral ties," Su said.

Su said it was imperative for President Barack Obama to leave office with a stabilized Sino-US relations despite their disputes over the South China Sea,

"If US President Barack Obama leaves Sino-US relations in chaos to his successor, that would not be desirable," Su added. "The White House must carefully consider how to stabilise relations."

TagsPentagon, gag order, Washington, Beijing, National Security Council, china, President Barack Obama