Sharing a border of over 2,000 kilometers with Myanmar, China has suffered much from the military confrontation taking place in its southwestern neighbor. In response to the incursions into China's airspace and the bombing of Lincang city, the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force has stepped up its patrols along the China-Myanmar border, and it has stated it will send warnings and prevent Myanmar planes from approaching Chinese territory.

Undoubtedly, the ongoing unrest near the border area might deal a blow to bilateral trade exchanges between the two countries, and might even put the China-supported oil pipelines in Myanmar at risk. China's cooperative investments in Myanmar and the Bangladesh-China-Myanmar-India economic corridor the Chinese leaders have proposed are facing growing security threats, which may cause further damage to China-Myanmar relations.

Therefore, the Chinese government needs to make smart diplomatic decisions. In fact, China has always been tolerant and restrained in its relations with Myanmar and other neighbors. However, such a friendly stance has sometimes failed to alleviate their concerns about a "China threat", and they have even intentionally ignored China's rightful interests as a developing regional power.

Such being the case, it is more than necessary that China act more assertively to defend its legitimate rights, and it should push for negotiations to end the conflict in Myanmar. More importantly, it should drawa clear red line regarding any cross-border intrusions and punish any deliberate crossing of the line.

The author is a researcher at the National Institute of International Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.