The show of force mounted this week off the Korean Peninsula by the United States and South Korea was the biggest in decades and was intended to warn North Korea not to take aggressive action against the South.
China, however, objected to the military exercises and called for "restraint" by all parties.
In deference to Chinese sensitivities, the United States decided not to deploy the aircraft carrier George Washington in the Yellow Sea. Instead, activities this week of the nuclear-powered carrier and 20-odd ships and submarines, plus 200 aircraft, were confined to the east of the peninsula.