Beijing: China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang on Tuesday described the US’s “Indo-Pacific strategy” as an attempt to “gang up” against Beijing, in direct response to a China-centric joint statement issued by the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. was seen as , or External Affairs Minister at the Quad, New Delhi.
After becoming a minister on the sidelines of China’s ongoing parliament session, Qin said at a press conference, “The US’s ‘Indo-Pacific strategy’ seeks to carve out special blocs, promote confrontation and undermine regional integration.” does.” Beijing on Tuesday.
The Quad statement issued jointly by the foreign ministers of Australia, India and Japan and the US on March 3 said the meeting “… reaffirms the Quad’s firm commitment to supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific , which is inclusive and flexible”.
It added that the Quad “strongly” supports “peaceful resolution of disputes without the threat or use of force and freedom of navigation and overflight”, and “opposes any unilateral attempt to change the status quo”. All of which are necessary for peace.” stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond”.
Sure enough, Qin’s comments are reiterating what his predecessor Wang Yi said earlier.
The Quad’s statement did not name China, but included several paragraphs in which the South and East China Seas, “militarization of disputed features” and the group’s commitment to support “Pacific island countries” were all explicitly stated. were in the context of Beijing’s expansion. influence in the field.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea but this claim is disputed by several maritime neighbors including the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia, in addition to Vietnam and Taiwan (which China calls a separate territory); The Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea are disputed between China and Japan.
Beijing has been repeatedly accused of militarizing uninhabited islands and coral reefs in the South China Sea, while many of them are disputed.
The Quad’s statement also said that the four countries “… reaffirm our continued and unwavering support for ASEAN centrality and unity, and the ASEAN-led architecture—including the East Asia Summit and the ASEAN Regional Forum”. “.
Qin’s criticism of the Indo-Pacific strategy on Tuesday appeared to be a point-by-point rebuttal of the Quad’s statement.
Qin said the Quad was an attempt to “encircle China”, adding: “Such an attempt will only disrupt the ASEAN-centred open and inclusive regional cooperation architecture, and undermine the overall and long-term interests of regional countries. It It is bound to fail.
Qin said, the strategy “claims to safeguard regional security, but in reality it provokes confrontation and seeks to create an Asia-Pacific version of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization).”
“There should be no Cold War restart and no Ukraine-style crisis repeated in Asia,” he said.
Qin’s predecessor, Wang Yi, has more than once described the group as an “Indo-Pacific NATO” in addition to accusing it of “Cold War mentality” and “inciting geographic rivalry” and one of America’s hegemonic designs. Example.
