当被问及中国为什么不澄清要求时，中方对话者有时会说这需要艰难的政治和官僚妥协，还有可能刺激国内的民族主义者。
When asked why they do not clarify their claims, my Chinese interlocutors sometimes say that to do so would require difficult political and bureaucratic compromises that would provoke domestic nationalists.