Beijing has urged Southeast Asian countries to resist alleged US and Nato-led “external interference” in the South China Sea and other regional hotspots, stepping up pressure on its neighbours amid an escalating war of words with Washington.
Top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi hammered home the message on the sidelines of an Asean foreign ministers’ meeting in Laos last week, saying that the United States had “no right” to intervene in the South China Sea.
Wang’s comments come at a time of heightened maritime tensions between China and the Philippines, a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and one of the oldest US treaty allies in Asia.
Caught up in the deepening US-China rivalry for regional dominance, the 10 Asean member states expressed their “concerns” in a joint statement at the end of the three-day gathering on Saturday.
Observers said the statement underlined deep divisions within the grouping.
Maria Thaemar Tana, a non-resident fellow at the Stratbase ADR Institute in Manila, said China’s assertive behaviour has strained relations with Southeast Asian neighbours, which remained deeply divided over how to cope with an increasingly confident Beijing.
“Some countries are cautious about directly opposing China but are also wary of becoming too dependent on it. This situation forces these countries to carefully balance economic ties with China while preventing its dominance,” she said.
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Wang on Saturday singled out Washington and the US-led Nato as top threats to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, urging the Asean to remain “alert to and oppose [Nato] intervention in the region”, according to a readout from state news agency Xinhua.
“The US-led ‘Indo-Pacific strategy’ exacerbates security dilemmas and runs counter to the vision of long-term peace and prosperity in the region,” Wang told an Asean Regional Forum meeting attended by 27 foreign ministers, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Nato intervention in the region was bound to “trigger confrontation and escalate tensions,” Wang was quoted as saying.
Blinken in turn hit out at China’s “escalating and unlawful actions” in the South China Sea.
Wang and Blinken also held bilateral talks on Saturday, discussing issues of mutual concern including South China Sea and Taiwan.
