The chief of the US Pacific Command (PACOM) has said the US military's uncontested control over the Pacific region is coming to an end, and highlighted China's rise as a potential risk to the country's presence in the region.

Analysts say while the comment suggests that Washington recognizes China's military strength, it is still generations behind that of the US and would be unable to constitute a challenge to the US military for a significant period of time.

Admiral Sam Locklear, commander of the US Pacific Command, Wednesday told an annual meeting of the Surface Navy Association in Virginia that, "Our historic dominance that most of us in this room have enjoyed is diminishing, no question," reported the Defense News.

Locklear told the conference that the rise of China is a key factor that puts US Navy ships and service members in the Pacific at risk, said the report.

The commander's comment came as the People's Liberation Army (PLA) navy expanded its activities in the blue waters of the Pacific and Beijing's establishment of an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea, which has led to more encounters between the US and Chinese militaries.

Last December, the Cowpens, a US guided missile cruiser, had a near-collision with a Chinese warship while monitoring China's first aircraft carrier the Liaoning in the South China Sea. US military planes have also been observed flying through the ADIZ.

Jin Canrong, a deputy dean of the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China, said Locklear's remarks are a recognition of China's rising military might.

"However, some people, who sit in their offices in Washington, tend to hold a more hard-line position toward China," Jin said.

Rear Admiral Yang Yi, a PLA navy expert, told the Global Times that after nearly two decades of uncontested military superiority, Washington is sensitive toward any change which may potentially pose a challenge to its security.

"William Fallon, former commander of the US Pacific Command, once told me that when he was deployed to the region during the Vietnam War, US vessels saw no sign of a Chinese warship in the region," Yang said.

While China's rapid development has surprised the US, the PLA still lags generations behind the US navy, Yang said, adding that Locklear has exaggerated China's military rise to seek budget increases and higher spending power.

Addressing Wednesday's meeting, Locklear called on attendees to be "thinking in the offensive," and noted, "the lack of urgency on the development [of] next-generation, surface-launch, over the horizon cruise missile is troubling," reported the Defense News.

The call echoed concerns from three US lawmakers over China's recent test of a hypersonic missile delivery vehicle.

"While round after round of defense cuts have knocked America's technological advantage on its back, the Chinese and other competitor nations push towards military parity with the United States; in some cases, as in this one, they appear to be leaping ahead of us," the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Howard McKeon and two senior committee members said in a statement on Monday, reported AFP Thursday.

The hypersonic delivery vehicle is said to be able to travel at 10 times the speed of sound, and is able to penetrate the US missile defense system.

As China's military power grows, Washington is seeking cooperation with Beijing over security. This summer, the PLA navy will for the first time join the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC 2014), the world's largest maritime exercises, at the invitation of the US.

The US is asking China to be a contributor to regional security, including helping solve the Korean Peninsular nuclear issue, said Yang. "Washington wants to drag China into the security system led by it, and make China follow the rules set by the US strategy," he said.