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General Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of general staff of the People's Liberation Army, and Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang recently spoke out against foreign warships and aircraft coming to the Yellow Sea or any other offshore areas, which are threats to China's security.
I believe the objections are reasonable.
From the perspective of China's security, Chairman Mao Zedong once said that others should not snore besides someone's bed while the person is sleeping. If a snore is not allowed, shouldn't China worry when other powers wave their weapons near our territory?
Will the US allow China to undertake a joint military exercise with neighboring countries in the Gulf of Mexico? As an old Chinese saying goes: Don't do to others what you would not have others do to you.
From the perspective of strategic thinking, the bottom line is to probe the dangers before it appears. We should prepare for the worse and fight for the best outcome.
The hardline attitude we hold toward the joint military exercise is part of the preventive diplomacy. We need to make our strategic bottom line clear enough to avoid misunderstandings or misjudgment between the two sides.
From the perspective of geography, the Yellow Sea is the door to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, which has important security implications to Bohai Sea Rim - an important economic zone in China.
Chinese history tells of a war between the Chinese and Japanese navies in the Yellow Sea in 1894, when the Beiyang fleet headquarters was in Weihai, Shandong province, near the Yellow Sea.
The painful memories of the war make the waters a very sensitive area, which China hopes will not be touched by foreign powers.
Media reports say the military exercise region claimed by the US and the Republic of Korea (ROK) is only 500 km from Beijing, while the USS George Washington's radius of action is up to 600 km, and its carrier-borne aircraft can reach speeds of 1,000 km/h.
China should feel threatened by any country undertaking military exercises in this region.
From the perspective of the Korean Peninsula's security, the United Nations Security Council has issued a statement, which condemns the attack on the Cheonan warship but has asked each party to maintain a restrained attitude toward the incident.
The peninsula has been surrounded by dangers because of the incident. The joint military exercise in the Yellow Sea is creating more problems for the peninsula, rather than solving them.
From the perspective of the Sino-US ties, it is necessary to declare China's solemn stance of maintaining good international relations, especially a good military relationship.
China has always worked hard to promote Sino-US relations on the track of a sound development. General Ma said the US Defense Secretary Robert Gates would be welcomed in China at a more appropriate time.
But he also clearly indicated three major barriers in Sino-US relations.
First, the US sold weapons to Taiwan. Second, US military aircraft and warships are frequently detected in the East China Sea and South China Sea. Third, up to 12 issues in Sino-US military exchange have been restrained by American National Defense Authorization Act in 2000 and the Delay Amendment.
The military exercise has created additional barriers in Sino-US relations.
The US and the ROK say the USS George Washington is in the exercise to pressure and deter Pyongyang. However, the Yellow Sea is one of China's gateways.
The joint military exercise will clearly carry out military reconnaissance missions. The aircraft carrier has strong detection abilities, and is able to get familiar with future battlefields and inspect military plans.
But no matter what the military exercise is for, all of them threaten China.
The US used to be a strong supporter of the "China threat" theory. But this joint military exercise proves that the US, rather than China, is threatening the world.
General Ma said communication between two countries' defense departments have never stopped, and negotiations between the two military arms continue.
I wish the two sides will set up more mechanisms to enhance communication and negotiations, which can help the US understand more about China, and respect China's security interests and concerns. China and US should try to handle the relationship appropriately to prevent the crisis from escalating.
The author is a major-general and a senior researcher from the Academy of Military Science of the People's Liberation Army.
