DM Monitoring
KUALA LUMPUR: Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Tuesday that the so-called Indo-Pacific strategy proposed by the United States would undermine peace and development prospect in East Asia.
In response to a question on the impact of the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy on the East Asia cooperation, Wang told a joint press conference with Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein that East Asia is the most dynamic region in today’s world, and is also the economy with the biggest potential going forward.
Wang pointed out that the Indo-Pacific strategy proposed by the United States is in essence aimed at building a so-called Indo-Pacific “new NATO” underpinned by the quadrilateral mechanism involving the United States, Japan, India and Australia.
The strategy is to trumpet the old-fashioned Cold War mentality to stir up confrontation among different groups and blocs and to stoke geopolitical competition, in a bid to maintain the dominance and hegemonic system of the United States, he said.
The strategy contravenes the spirit of mutual benefit and win-win spirit that has been pursued by East Asia cooperation, impacts the regional cooperation architecture with ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) at the center and it will eventually undermine the prospect of peace and development of East Asia, he said. Wang further pointed out that the strategy itself is a big underlying security risk. If being forced forward, it would not only wind back the clock of history, but also mark the beginning of danger, so he believes that all parties could see this clearly and will stay vigilant against it.
Moreover, The Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, on Tuesday urged Asian countries to remain “vigilant” over the risk of U.S. strategy stoking geopolitical competition in the South China Sea and other parts of the region.
Beijing and members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) should work together to remove “external disruption” in the South China Sea, Wang said during a joint news conference with Malaysia’s foreign minister.
“We (China and Malaysia) are both of the view that the South China Sea should not be a ground for major power wrestling teeming with warships,” said Wang, who is on a short Southeast Asian tour.
