Unnecessary US close-in reconnaissance off China's coast raises more than issues of mutual trust. Such actions undermine the overall US-China relationship.

Incidents such as the August 19 encounter near Hainan Island need not happen. Beijing has made clear in recent years that close-in surveillance activity by air and by sea harms bilateral relations as does the US' continued sale of weapons to Taiwan.

Neither close-in surveillance nor weapons sales to Taiwan are military necessities for the US. These are policy matters that the White House can and must change.

Former US officials and many experts over the past decade have recommended a halt to US close-in surveillance activity. Nonetheless, Washington increased the frequency of such activity.

Former national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski is among those realistically recommending a halt to such provocative surveillance activity and to provocative weapons sales to Taiwan.

Experts say the US likely targets Hainan Island owing to the positioning of a Jin-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine force there. Such Chinese vessels provide an important factor in nuclear deterrence strategy just as such US vessels do for Washington.

I enjoy salt water fishing and like to travel to north Florida near the Georgia border. On the Georgia side of the water is the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, home port for the US Atlantic Fleet Trident-class nuclear ballistic missile force.

From time to time, locals catch a glimpse of these submarines coming and going from the base. I do not doubt there would be a strong reaction from locals, and from Washington, should any country undertake aggressive and provocative surveillance of this sensitive area.

The US accepted the Chinese proposal to develop a new type of major power relationship at the 2013 meeting in California between President Barack Obama and President Xi Jinping. Unnecessary provocation by the US calls into question Washington's sincerity.

The US has significant technical means for surveillance. US capabilities include surface ships, submarines, satellites, and undersea sensors. Such surveillance need not be provocative.

In developing a new type of relations, measures by both sides must be taken to reduce frictions. Reducing frictions at the state-to-state level is a task for foreign policy and diplomacy.

Improvement of military-to-military relations at the practical working level is a goal of both the US and China. 

US and Chinese military professionals do appear to be striving sincerely to promote such improvement. There is no question, for example, that the US Joint Chiefs of Staff are working hard to develop professional relations with their counterparts in China.

The problem is with Washington's politicians and civilian policymakers, many of whom are still caught up in Cold War zero-sum thinking and post-Cold War hegemonic thinking.

The president of the US can at any time order the military to refrain from provocative close-in surveillance of China's coastal areas. The president can also order a halt to future provocative weapons sales to Taiwan, notwithstanding some US politicians' twisted interpretation of outdated US legislation regarding Taiwan.

US diplomacy so far has not done much to improve relations or build a new type of relations. Although Vice President Joe Biden's visit to China and the region in December was constructive, US-China relations seem to have taken a turn downward in 2014.

One would expect the US embassy in Beijing to be fully apprised regarding China's concerns. How Washington treats indications from our professional diplomats at the embassy is another matter.

Strident and unprofessional US "megaphone diplomacy" from Washington at the White House and cabinet level aimed at China has not helped the bilateral relationship.

The US-China relationship is too important for the Obama administration to make unnecessary mistakes. While the White House has its hands full in the Middle East, it must follow through with the US commitment for a new type of major power relationship with China.  Provocations must stop.

The author is an educator and former senior professional staff member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn