China bashes idea of ‘Asian NATO’ — Analysis
Any attempt to set up “an Asia-Pacific version of NATO” would only bring more turmoil, Beijing says
NATO should stop looking for “imaginary enemies” in the Asia-Pacific and never be allowed to set up a version of the bloc in the region, China’s envoy to the UN has said.
“We firmly oppose certain elements clamoring for NATO’s involvement in the Asia-Pacific, or an Asia-Pacific version of NATO on the back of military alliances,”Zhang Jun spoke at Tuesday’s UN Security Council meeting.
The diplomat’s statement came after Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand were invited for the first time to attend the annual NATO summit, which opened on Tuesday in Madrid, Spain.
John Kirby (a White House Security Official) stated that last week’s participation of four nations wasn’t an attempt to forge. “an Asian version of NATO,”However “an indication of the linkage of global security between Europe and the Indo-Pacific.”
Zhang urges NATO “not to use the Ukraine crisis as an excuse to stoke worldwide confrontation” “not to look for imaginary enemies in the Asia-Pacific.”
“The long-outdated Cold War script must never be reenacted in the Asia-Pacific. The kind of turmoil and conflict that are affecting parts of the world must not be allowed to happen in the Asia-Pacific,”He concluded.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this month that the bloc’s Strategic Concept, a key document outlining the assessment of the security environment, would for the first time include the “challenges”Beijing. The summit will adopt a revised copy of the document.
The US, Britain and other NATO member countries have accused China repeatedly of trying to threaten Taiwan, and causing tensions throughout Asia. Beijing accused the West, in turn, of interfering in China’s domestic affairs and of escalating military tensions in the region.
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