International Herald Leader, a Xinhua newspaper, published an article on August 2, 2010, regarding that the USS George Washington aircraft carrier was not (at that time) heading to the Yellow Sea, and that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared, “The United States’ has a national interest in the territorial disputes over islands in the South China Sea.”
According to the article, “When talking about future maritime relations with other countries, China must first consider the Chinese Navy’s continuous development in accordance with the rules for the development of the naval forces of the world’s naval powers. That is to say, China cannot and it is impossible to slow down the development of its own naval forces because of the diplomatic concerns of other countries, not to mention that it would be conducting ‘self-inflicted mutilation.’”
“China should reject the U.S. attempt to link maritime security issues with issues of U.S. concern in terms of China-U.S. relations.”
Source: International Herald Leader, August 2, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2010-08/02/content_13952534.htm