But even the military is not monolithic.
Paal, Asian affairs director at the National Security Council in the former Bush administration, said Chinese jets safely intercept US surveillance planes other places where they encounter them.
But the South China military region covering Hainan Island, where the navy plane landed after colliding with a Chinese fighter, has "almost a Wild West quality," he said.
For all the factionalism that plays out largely behind the scenes in China, Pei pointed out that the US, too, has its moderates and hardliners that Beijing must try to understand. But at least the US military kept in its place during the deadlock, he said, with the defense secretary sitting tight while Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell carried the ball publicly.
Americans, he said, "ought to give [Defense Secretary] Don Rumsfeld a medal for being silent."
The only ones speaking out of school were some members of Congress who oppose closer links with China such as open trade, contending its human rights behavior makes it an unacceptable commercial partner.
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