Adm. Scott Swift, commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, observes operations aboard a P-8A Poseidon aircraft during a flight hosted by the Pelicans of Patrol Squadron (VP) 45. US Navy/Tyler R. Fraser/Released)
The surveillance flight of a United States (US) military aircraft over the West Philippine and South China Sea has damaged bilateral mutual trust, China's Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Monday.
China also said that the frequent and wide-ranging close surveillance of the US has jeopardized the country's security interests, according to a report from China-based Global Times.
A top US Navy admiral earlier confirmed that he had been aboard a seven-hour flight of a Boeing P-8 surveillance plane.
Admiral Scott Swift, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, clarified the said surveillance flight conducted last Saturday was routine and reiterated that the US was committed to freedom of navigation in the region.
READ: Pacific Fleet commander says surveillance flight ‘routine’
"The surveillance is a signal that the US has grown increasingly keen on pushing forward its strategic rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific, featuring a more in-depth intervention in the South China Sea," maritime border expert Wang Xiaopeng told the Global Times.
Last May, the Chinese navy warned a US surveillance plane flying over the artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea.
The US surveillance aircraft received eight warnings from the Chinese navy, asking them to leave the area.
The Chinese Defense Minister once again called on the US not to take sides on the territorial dispute over the South China Sea.
The Philippines filed an arbitration case against China, challenging its nine-dash line claim over the South China Sea.
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2015/07/21/1479352/china-us-surveillance-damaged-mutual-trust
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