United States of America warships and planes have conducted more than 2,000 spy missions targeting China this year. A researcher from China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) said these things at an annual conference of the Chinese military. The researcher claimed that such close espionage threatens the sovereign security of the country.
Cao Yanzhong, a researcher at the PLA's Academy of Military Science, said the missions targeted Chinese-controlled islands and reefs in the disputed South China Sea, as well as China's coastal areas.
Cao told a panel at the Tenth Xiangshan Forum, "Such close espionage so often puts China's sovereign security at risk. Regional tensions rise, which will lead to fierce opposition from China and undoubtedly increase the risk of the use of weapons.
Conflict between the two countries
Relations between the United States of America and China are at their weakest at the moment. Both the countries are embroiled in a conflict on many subjects including trade. There are also tensions between the two countries over Beijing's aggressive military stance in the disputed South China Sea and human rights in Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang provinces. China claims sovereignty over the entire South China Sea. Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan oppose this claim.
