China concerned over US planes over South China Sea

BEIJING: Chinese military has expressed its opposition to frequent surveillance by US military ships and aircraft over the disputed South China Sea, saying it is harming bilateral mutual trust and the country's security interests.

"For a long time, US military ships and aircraft have carried out frequent, widespread, and up-close surveillance of China, seriously harming bilateral mutual trust and China's security interests, which could easily cause an accident at sea or in the air," an official of the Chinese military told state-run China Daily today.

"Chinese government strongly opposes to the move of the US," the official said.

"Maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region is in the common interests of all parties. We hope that the US could stick to the commitment and contribute more in upholding peace and stability, rather than taking the opposite side," the official said.

The comments came after a top US navy admiral joined a seven-hour-long surveillance flight over the South China Sea over the weekend.

China's claims of sovereignty over whole of the South China Sea is opposed by Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

In May, Beijing described a US P-8 surveillance flight carrying a CNN team over the South China Sea as "irresponsible and dangerous".