China looks to neighbours amid ‘new threats and challenges’ in the region
- Foreign Minister Wang Yi lashes out at ‘external forces’ and emphasises the need for Russia, Mongolia and Central Asian nations to work together
- Remarks come after American defence chief Mark Esper reiterated Washington’s plan to build a Nato-like alliance in the Indo-Pacific
China’s foreign minister has emphasised the need for Russia, Mongolia and Central Asian countries to step up cooperation in the face of threats and challenges posed by an emerging US-led multilateral security bloc in the Indo-Pacific.
Wang Yi’s remarks, published by official news agency Xinhua on Thursday, came after US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper reiterated overnight Washington’s plan to forge a Nato-like geostrategic alliance in the region, which he described as “the epicentre of great power competition with China”.
Wang told Xinhua the countries he visited “agreed that security and strategic coordination … represent an important part of all-round cooperation” with China, and highlighted the need to work together on security, defence and law enforcement. He said their relations had maintained good momentum but “turbulence in the world has intensified, and regional security is facing new threats and challenges”.
Without mentioning the US, he said “some external forces have intervened in the internal affairs of regional countries under various pretexts, and even tried to instigate a new round of ‘colour revolutions’”.