Singapore, China’s defense minister on Sunday warned against forming military alliances like NATO in the Asia-Pacific, saying they would plunge the region into a “vortex” of conflict.
Li Shangfu’s comments come a day after US and Chinese military vessels sailed close to each other in the Taiwan Strait flashpoint, an incident that sparked outrage on both sides.
“Attempts to push for a NATO-like (alliance) in the Asia-Pacific are a way to kidnap countries in the region and exaggerate conflicts and confrontations,” Li told a security conference. in Singapore which was also attended by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Li said the alliance would “plunge Asia-Pacific into a whirlwind of discord and conflict.”
Li did not name any countries, but his comments echoed China’s longstanding criticism of the United States seeking to strengthen alliances in the region.
The United States is a member of the AUKUS alliance, which brings them together with Australia and the United Kingdom.
Washington is also a member of the QUAD group, which includes Australia, India and Japan.
“Today’s Asia-Pacific requires open and inclusive cooperation, not small groups,” Li said at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit.
“We must not forget the terrible disaster that the two world wars caused to the people of all countries, and we must not allow such a tragic history to repeat itself.”
fear of conflict
On Saturday, Austin called for a high-level defense dialogue with Beijing to avoid a miscalculation that could lead to a clash between the two superpowers.
“The more we talk, the more we can avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations that can lead to crises or conflicts,” Austin said.
Austin and Li shook hands and spoke briefly for the first time over dinner on Friday, but there was no substantial exchange.
The United States had invited Li to meet Austin on the sidelines of the conference, but the Pentagon said Beijing refused.
A member of the Chinese delegation told Drberita that lifting US sanctions against its ministers was a prerequisite for the talks.
There are some signs of increased dialogue between the two countries.
CIA Director William Burns made a secret trip to China last month, a US official said on Friday.
And Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink will travel to China on Sunday for a rare visit.
But the US and Chinese militaries are also engaged in a dangerous battle over two of the region’s most sensitive areas – the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
US and Canadian warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the waterway separating autonomous Taiwan from China, on Saturday.
The United States has accused a Chinese navy ship of sailing in a “dangerous manner” near the American ship, the destroyer Chung-Hoon.
China claims Taiwan as its territory – promising to take it one day, by force if necessary – and has in recent years stepped up military and political pressure on the island.
The meeting in the Taiwan Strait follows what the US military called an ‘unnecessarily aggressive maneuver’ by one of Beijing’s warplanes near one of Washington’s surveillance planes in the South China Sea. south last week.
“We remain concerned about the PLA’s increasingly risky and coercive activity in the region, including in recent days,” said Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder, who was traveling with Austin. , after Li’s speech.
A senior US defense official also told reporters: “Actions speak louder than words, and the dangerous behavior we have seen from the PLA around the Strait, in the South and East China Seas and beyond really says it all.
In his speech Saturday, Lloyd outlined Washington’s broad partnership in the region, which he calls the Indo-Pacific, and held talks with his allied and partner counterparts.
“The American partnership brings this region together to help keep it free, open and safe,” he said.
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