To the south and west of Zhaoqing China lies the plain area and to the east and north is the mountainous area. Flowing from west to east, is the Xijiang River.
China says it is concerned about reports that a U.S. aircraft carrier may join a military exercise with South Korea amid a tense standoff with North Korea over the sinking of a warship from the South.
The South Korean corvette the Cheonan was sunk off the peninsula's west coast in March, killing 46 sailors. South Korea has blamed the North for sinking the Cheonan with a torpedo fired from a submarine, a charge the North denies.
The United States and South Korea have since said they will hold a joint anti-submarine drill.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is in South Korea this week to show unity between the two countries and to plan joint-military drills meant to-- as one U.S. military official put it-- send a message of deterrence to North Korea.
This comes four months after the sinking of a South Korean warship- the Cheonan- which killed 46 soldiers.
The United Nations condemned the attack, but did not go as far as laying blame on North Korea.
An international investigation led by south Korea concluded it was sunk by a North Korean torpedo, which North Korea denies.
Tensions on the pided Korean peninsula have risen dramatically since international investigators said last week that North Korea was responsible for a torpedo attack on a South Korean warship in March that killed 46 sailors.
Relations are now at their lowest point in a decade. South Korea, backed by the U.S., Japan and other allies, began implementing a package of punitive measures earlier this week - ranging from slashing trade, resuming propaganda warfare and barring the North's cargo ships. Those were seen as among the strongest it could implement short of military action. Washington has promised ''unequivoca'' military support for South Korea.
North Korea meanwhile has vowed to retaliate. It has threatened all out war, cut relations with South Korea and has barred South Korean ships and airliners from passing through its territory.
China, North Korea's main ally, has so far tried to remain neutral, calling on both sides to ''exercise restraint.'' Whether or not the two sides hold off, or launch into a cross-border war is a question that's on a lot of people's minds at the moment. And it's one that's being debated online here. Let's cross to the newsroom now where our researcher Emma Wang has been gauging reaction.
This week's big joint US-South Korean naval exercises in the Sea of Japan have made China uneasy because of their geographical proximity to the mainland.
The manoeuvres involve an aircraft carrier and 200 aircraft, and are being staged in response to the sinking of a South Korean warship in March.
South Korea and the US believe North Korea torpedoed the Cheonan warship and say their joint naval drill is intended to deter North Korea from undertaking military action against the South.
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