Special to WorldTribune.com

Bill Gertz, Washington Free Beacon

The Pentagon on Tuesday rejected demands by China that the United States end all surveillance flights along China’s borders.

“We’re going to continue to fly in international airspace the way we’ve been, just like we’re going to continue to sail our ships in international waters the way we’ve been,” Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Chinese military commentators stepped up criticism of the U.S. military for the encounter Aug. 19 between a Navy P-8 anti-submarine warfare aircraft and a Chinese Su-27 interceptor jet and said more aggressive intercepts could be expected in the future. The Pentagon said the jet flew within 20 feet of the P-8 in dangerous aerial maneuvers. ….

“The United States is a Pacific power; we have responsibilities — five of seven treaty alliances in the Pacific region,” he said. “We’re going to meet those security commitments. We want to do this in an open and transparent way. We want to share as much information with our allies and partners and with China as we can, and we want to do that. But none of that cooperation is aided along by that kind of reckless behavior by that particular pilot.”

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