We don146;t have the ability to scare you: China to US

8220;The distance between China and US militaries is big.

We don8217;t have the ability to make you afraid of us,8221; Chen, the PLA8217;s chief of general staff, said at the beginning of talks at the Defense Ministry with Adm Timothy Keating, the top US commander in the Asia-Pacific region.

Keating, the head of the US Pacific Command, was making his first trip to China since Beijing turned away the USS Kitty Hawk and five ships accompanying it for a Hong Kong port call in November. The same week, two US Navy minesweepers were also turned away after seeking shelter during a storm.

8220;China is a country with its own territory. If your ship wants to stop by in Hong Kong you have to follow he international rules and go through some procedures,8221; Chen told Keating.

He did not say whether the ships had failed to follow proper procedures, but said they were welcome to make port calls in the future.

China hinted at the time that its actions were triggered by the US Congress8217; honoring of the Dalai Lama and US arms sales to China8217;s rival Taiwan. China views the Dalai Lama, a spiritual leader to Tibetans, as a 8216;splittist8217; who is intent on separating Tibet from China. Beijing considers self-governing Taiwan a breakaway province that it hopes to reclaim.