As China attempts to claim nearly 1.4-million square miles of open ocean without precedent in the South China Sea, they sent a clear and present warning to the United States on Thursday.
"We demand that the United States immediately cease this type of close reconnaissance activity to avoid having this sort of incident happening again," China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei Hong said.
Hong also told reporters that the U.S. military's reconnaissance missions "seriously endanger Chinese maritime security."
These demands follow an incident that took place last week where two Chinese J-11 fighter jets flew within 50 feet of the U.S. EP-3 reconnaissance aircraft. Hong said the Pentagon's accusations that the Chinese fighter jets acted unsafely was "untrue" and that the aircraft were "completely in keeping with safety and professional standards" and did not "engage in any dangerous action."
"The Chinese people do not want to have war, so we will be opposed to the U.S. if it stirs up any conflict," said Liu Zhenmin, vice minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "Of course, if the Korean War or Vietnam War are replayed, then we will have to defend ourselves."