China requested that the United States reduce and eventually stop aerial and seaborne military surveillance, Reuters reported. "China believes the constant U.S. military air and sea surveillance and survey operations in China’s exclusive economic zone had led to military confrontations between the two sides," China’s defense ministry said in a statement. China has confronted US surveillance ships six times this year. The request was made at a session on maritime safety held by the militaries of the two countries. At issue is a disagreement over sea boundaries: The US says that waters beyond 12 miles offshore are open to all shipping, while China maintains that it has the right to control sea traffic within its 200-mile exclusive economic zone.
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