The Chinese Ministry of Defense (MOD) Thursday urged the U.S. military to stop its highly frequent surveillance missions the airspace off the coast of China. People’s Liberation Army officials made the statement at its regular monthly Beijing press conference.

Ministry of Defense spokesman Yang Yujun said U.S. surveillance missions could harm China’s security interests. Surveillance missions also damaged the strategic trust and bilateral relations between China and the U.S., he said.

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China accused the U.S. of close-in reconnaissance in response to U.S. criticism that a Chinese fighter jet dangerously intercepted a U.S. Navy patrol plane in China's coastline last Tuesday, reports said.

Yang followed that up Thursday, saying U.S. surveillance flights were taking place 220 kilometers off china's Hainan Island, "not 220 kilometers off the coast of Hawaii in the United States and certainly not 220 kilometers off the coast of Florida. so the rights and wrongs are very clear."

If the U.S. does not want to affect mutual ties, it must lessen, or completely stop, its close-in reconnaissance activities against China, Yang added.

Yang also confirmed that China sharply monitored U.S. reconnaissance activities. It will take corresponding measures to protect China’s national sea and air security, according to the extent of the threat the U.S. poses, he said.

According to reports, the U.S. has filed a formal complaint with Beijing and claimed that its actions are legal.

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said the U.S. military will continue to fly in international airspace and sail its ships in international waters, saying there is no international law that forbids it.

The United States is a Pacific power. It has to meet security commitments and take responsibilities on five of seven treaty alliances in the Pacific region, Kirby explained.

Reports said that the U.S. State Department declared that its reconnaissance over Hainan Island was transparent and that it had informed China. However, China said it didn't received a warning from the U.S. military.

TagsUS, Close-in reconnaissance, Navy, Chinese Defense Ministry