BEIJING - Defense Ministry spokesperson Yang Yujun on Tuesday labeled recent incidents in the South China Sea as "old tricks" used to stir tensions and smear the reputation of Chinese armed forces.

The Navy has had to deal with the reconnaissance operations of US warships and aircraft in Chinese territory around the South China Sea for a long time, said Yang at a press conference today.

"Our responses are always necessary, legal and professional," he said.

Yang posited that recent developments may have been given a lot of attention because certain country had intensified reconnaissance operations near Chinese waters or certain parties were intentionally drawing attention to the issue.

The purpose of this coverage, Yang said, was to discredit the Navy and play up regional tensions.

"We cannot rule out the possibility that a certain country is looking for an excuse to support future operations," he said. "This is not something new. It is an old trick."

He urged all parties to look at the current situation with clear eyes.

Stressing that the China-US relationship generally favorable, Yang said the armed forces of the two countries had a common understanding of relations.

As for the disputes between the two sides, China expects the US to respect its core interests and major concerns and hoped that the two sides would work together to improve mutual trust and manage disputes, he said.

"It must be noted that China is working toward establishing positive interactions with the US in the Asia-Pacific region and hopes that other countries in the region will jointly safeguard peace, security and stability," he said.