BEIJING, Aug. 26 -- Practicing unilateralism and instigating confrontation will only lead to tension, instead of bringing about so-called "freedom and openness", said Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, when commenting the recent US-led multinational joint exercises in the Indo-Pacific region at the regular press conference on August 26, 2021.
Recently, the US military held the Large Scale Exercise (LSE) 2021 with the UK, Australia and Japan with the aim to strengthen the rules-based regional order and maintain a "free and open Indo-Pacific". Besides, the maritime joint exercise Malabar 2021, involving troops from the US, Japan, India and Australia, is scheduled to be conducted in the Philippines Sea from August 26 to 29. Some analysts say that the exercises mainly target China with increasingly intensified maritime activities.
Snr. Col. Tan remarked that the US, for some time, by perceiving some other countries as its imaginary enemies, organized large-scale military exercises, formed gangs in relevant waters and showed off its military strength. Such movements of the US have severely undermined regional peace and stability, and run counter to the common aspiration of countries in the region to pursue peace, cooperation and development, Tan said.
He stressed that China always holds that international military exchanges and cooperation should be conducive to safeguarding regional peace and stability, and enhancing mutual understanding and trust, rather than targeting or undermining the interests of any third party.
China will continue to adhere to the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and is willing to work with the countries in this region to deepen security cooperation, jointly cope with threats and challenges and make the Asia-Pacific region a stable plate in the global framework, Tan added.
