The Chinese top official made those statements when addressing participants in the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue, hosted by Singapore and organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
In his words, Dong stated that the Asia-Pacific peoples are committed to the pursuit of harmony, are peace-loving, independent, self-sufficient and have always supported one another for better or worse.
Xinhua news agency reported that in this regard, Dong asked to draw strength from “Asian wisdom” to build consensus and seek common ground while putting aside differences.
China is willing to work with all parties to protect the legitimate security interests of all countries, jointly build a more just and equitable international order, and take full advantage of the regional security architecture, he stressed.
It is committed to promoting open and substantive defense cooperation and setting an example of maritime security collaboration, strengthening security governance in emerging areas, and striving to achieve new progress in regional security cooperation.
According to Xinhua on Saturday, in the context of the Shangri La Dialogue, the deputy chief of the Department of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Central Military Commission of China, Jing Jianfeng, stated that the Indo-Pacific Strategy of the United States only serves its own geopolitical interests and is destined to fail.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s speech on Saturday, in which he proclaimed the aforementioned strategy, is mere political rhetoric, Jing said in statements to reporters.
He stated that under the banner of promoting regional cooperation, Washington clings to the Cold War mentality, participates in zero-sum games, forms exclusive “clubs” and seeks to merge small cliques into an “Asia-Pacific version of NATO” to maintain its hegemony.
This strategy is obsolete, because while the common aspiration of the Asia-Pacific countries is peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit, the United States seeks to create divisions, incite confrontation and undermine regional stability, he stressed.
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