“Today’s Asia-Pacific region needs open and comprehensive cooperation, not gathering in small groups,” Chinese Defense Minister Li Changfu said Sunday.
Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu warned Sunday against the establishment of “NATO-like” military alliances in the Asia-Pacific region, saying they would plunge the region into a “whirlwind” of conflicts.
During a conference on security organized within the framework of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Lee said, “Attempts to strengthen NATO-like (alliances) in the Asia-Pacific region are a way to hijack countries in the region and amplify conflicts and confrontations, which will only lead to flooding the Asia region.” And the Pacific Ocean is in a whirlwind of disputes and conflicts.”
“Today’s Asia-Pacific region needs open and comprehensive cooperation, not small groups.
We must not forget the serious disasters caused by the two world wars to the people of all countries, and we must not allow this tragic history to repeat itself.
He did not mention any country by name, but his statements implicitly target the United States, which has strengthened its alliances and partnerships in the region to counter Beijing’s influence.
On the other hand, the US Department of Defense denounced the “increasingly dangerous” actions of the Chinese military in Asia.
“We continue to be concerned about the increasingly dangerous and coercive activities of the People’s Liberation Army in the region, including in recent days,” said Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder, who is attending a security conference with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Singapore.
These statements come after two incidents between US and Chinese forces in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea over the past 10 days.
On Saturday, the US Navy accused a Chinese ship of sailing in a “dangerous” zigzag around one of its destroyers, which was sailing in the Taiwan Strait with a Canadian ship.
China did not mention this incident, but accused the United States and Canada of “deliberately causing disturbances in the Taiwan Strait”, in which it claims sovereign rights.
