The envisioned goal to loosen the tense relations between the United States and Chinese military turned sour when U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and his Chinese counterpart, General Chang Wanquan, ended with unresolved issues and acidic relations.

The two ministers' meeting this Wednesday focused directly on security issues in the region that include China's overlapping claims with Japan over waters and islets in the East China Sea, and with the Philippines in the South China Sea.

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The two leaders also sparred over counter claims on espionage in cyberspace.

Hagel stressed before Chang that the United States have mutual defense treaties with both Japan and the Philippines, and any acts of provocation and aggression against them will be addressed by the U.S.

General Chang responded to Hagel's position by emphasizing that China will not be deterred, nor will it compromise its territorial claims, adding that there will be no concessions and no treaties.

Chang also said that the U.S. was openly siding with Japan and warned Hagel that the Americans should instead be wary of the Japanese.

Chang stressed that should any attacks come as a result of these tensions, the first attack will not be made by China.

According to Chang, China had an indisputable sovereignty on islands at the East and South China Seas.

REGIONAL SECURITY ISSUES

China is at odds with Japan over a group of small islands called Diayou in China and called Senkaku in Japan. The same islands are also claimed by Taiwan. To prop up its sovereign claim, China imposed its Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the East China Sea that overlaps with Japanese and South Korean airspace.

In the South China Sea, China imposed a nine-dash territorial line encompassing the whole sea, its islets and marine resources. The Philippines had formalized its resistance to China's claim by filing a case before the United Nation's  High Tribunal seeking third party arbitration.

Other Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan also have territorial claims on the South China Sea.

SINO-US DEFENSE RELATIONS

During Tuesday's meeting between the two ministers, Hagel immediately accused China of adding tension in the region by making unilateral discussions without any form of collaboration or consultation. Hagel warned that China's action could lead to a dangerous conflict.

Despite the civil verbal spats of the two ministers, they agreed to take modest steps to improve communications, but way too short to close the growing gap between the two nations.

Hagel emphasized that the United States was transparent in its abilities to secure telecommunications security, citing the Pentagon's recent briefing of Chinese military leaders on U.S. doctrine on the defense against cyber attacks.

Beijing has not yet responded with a counter briefing on China's own protocols but instead acceded to a U.S. request to visit China's first-ever aircraft carrier, Liaoning. Hagel became the first Western leader to see the ship.

Hagel continued to discuss cybersecurity measures and counter-measures with his counterpart but was often on the hot seat resulting from media reports that the Washington-based National Security Agency (NSA) was using the privately-owned Chinese telecoms firm Huawei to spy on China's military, the People's Liberation Army.

The Americans countered that cyber attacks on U.S. websites, with intent to spy and steal industrial secrets, emanated from China and were attributed to state-affiliated or state-owned entities commissioned by the PLA.

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

After the meeting of the two leaders, Hagel proceeded to China's defense university and answered questions from young military officials, mostly on the China-Japan claims in the East China Sea.

For Chang, he described his meeting with Hagel as a rare "symbol of a new type of China-US relations."

The Chinese general emphasized before Hagel that China placed great importance on the meeting, with hopes that the American defense secretary will have a deeper understanding of China and Chinese military.

The meeting is the third for the two leaders. Chang first met Hagel while he was a U.S. Senator from Nebraska, then later on as Defence Secretary during the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus 3 in Brunei last 2013.

Hagel is on a  three-nation visit. He first met with Japanese counterparts before heading to China and will later wind his tour of Asia with a visit to Mongolia.