Beijing: China on Sunday launched a broadside against the Indo-Pacific strategy of the United States ahead of the summit of Quad leaders in Japan, saying that it is “bound to fail” as it is vigorously promoted by Washington to “contain” Beijing.
The “Indo-Pacific strategy” is causing more and more vigilance and concern in the international community, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said when asked about the Indo-Pacific strategy at his joint press conference with Pakistan Prime Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.
This was Bilawal’s maiden visit to China after he took over as foreign minister following the fall of the Imran Khan-led government last month.
The US “Indo-Pacific Strategy” is bound to be a failed strategy, Wang said in the comments posted by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on its website.
His comments came ahead of the Quad summit to be held in Tokyo on May 24 in which US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his counterparts from Japan and Australia will take part.
China refers to the area as Asia-Pacific region and is averse to the Indo-Pacific strategic concept which has gained prominence during previous US President Donald Trump’s tenure and vigorously pursued by his successor Joe Biden.
The Asia-Pacific should become a plateau for peaceful development, rather than a geopolitical arena. Attempts to turn the Asia-Pacific into a bloc, NATO or Cold War will never succeed, Wang said.
The Quad grouping of the US, Japan, India and Australia focussed on free and open Indo-Pacific while Beijing likens it to ‘Asian NATO’ aimed to contain its rise.
—PTI

Press Trust of India