US intelligence director Dennis Blair said China was sending mixed messages by taking a "more aggressive" military stance in Southeast Asia while also deploying ships for anti-piracy missions off the coast of East Africa.

"The debate is still on in China as to whether, as their military power increases, it will be used for good or for pushing people around," Blair told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The retired admiral spoke after the United States formally protested to China over the incident, which occurred Sunday about 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Hainan Island.

The Pentagon said five Chinese vessels veered dangerously close to the USNS Impeccable, a surveillance ship that was towing an underwater sonar array in support of anti-submarine missions.

China charged that the US ship was in violation of Chinese and international law, and demanded that it cease its activities.

"This latest incident with fishing vessels and a PLA (People's Liberation Army) Navy vessel involved is the most serious that we've seen since 2001, the EP-3 incident," said Blair, who was head of the US Pacific Command at the time.

He was referring to the April 1, 2001 mid-air collision between a US surveillance aircraft and a Chinese fighter jet that sent Sino-US relations plummeting barely two months after George W. Bush became president.

The collision killed the pilot of the Chinese jet and the US EP-3 spy plane was forced to make an emergency landing on China's Hainan Island. The 24-member US crew were held for 11 days in a crisis seen as a test of Bush's leadership.

Beijing has long expressed its displeasure with US surveillance operations by having Chinese ships and planes approach US naval vessels in what it considers an "economic exclusion zone."

earlier related report
Beijing urges US to respect China's security: state media
Beijing (AFP) March 11 - China's defence ministry Wednesday urged the United States to respect its security following a standoff near its south coast, state media reported, amid warnings from Beijing about future ties.

Earlier in the day, China had also expressed anger over US criticism of Beijing's handling of Tibet and warned that such statements from Washington could harm bilateral military relations just as they seemed to be warming.

"We urge the United States to respect our legal interests and security concern," ministry spokesman Huang Xueping was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency in relation to Sunday's naval incident.

Xinhua's report said China wanted to make sure the US did not again carry out "activities in China's special economic zone in the South China Sea" and that it had lodged "a solemn representation to the United States."

The spat between Washington and Beijing, which has seen numerous claims and counter-claims in the past few days, began after the Pentagon said Chinese vessels had harassed a US Navy ship in international waters.

The United States protested to Chinese authorities in Beijing and to the defense attache in Washington over the incident, which occurred on Sunday in the South China Sea, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Hainan Island.

The Pentagon said Chinese boats moved directly in front of the USNS Impeccable, forcing the ship to take emergency action to avoid a collision, and then dropped pieces of wood into its path.

Beijing hit back on Tuesday rejecting that account and demanding the United States cease what it called illegal activities in the South China Sea.

On Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said that "the US claims are gravely in contravention of the facts," according to Xinhua.

The Xinhua report also quoted Huang as saying that the sea area where "the U.S. ship conducted illegal activities" was China's exclusive economic zone, and the United States should abide by laws regarding it.

"China conducts normal activities of law enforcement in its own exclusive economic zone to defend its rights and interests, and such activities are justified and lawful," he noted.

"We demand that the United States take effective measures to prevent similar acts from happening," Huang said.

Chinese military chiefs believe the US Navy ship was on a spying mission, state media reported on Wednesday.

The ongoing dispute added a new dimension to fragile military relations between the world powers, which had enjoyed a brief period of slight optimism after the two held defence talks in Beijing last month.

It also came as China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi was set to meet with his US counterpart Hillary Clinton in Washington later Wednesday.

Added to the deterioration in ties is the question of Tibet, where the 50th anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule was marked Tuesday with a harsh security clampdown to prevent any protests.

"The United States, ignoring the facts, has made unwarranted criticism of China on the issue of Tibet... We express our resolute opposition to, and strong dissatisfaction with this," Ma said Wednesday.

"We ask the US side... to acknowledge that Tibet is a part of China and oppose Tibetan independence, avoid harming overall China-US relations, and stop using the Tibet issue to interfere in China's internal affairs."

Ma was responding to comments by the White House and US State Department that raised concern over Beijing's handling of Tibet.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang is also due to meet US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in Washington on Wednesday, according to a Treasury official.

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