China responds to US, Japan's increasingly anti-Beijing alliance
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Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokesperson urges the United States and Japan to stop creating "imaginary enemies."
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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin addresses a press conference (AFP)
China reacts after the United States and Japan vowed to solidify their alliance against Beijing, which they identified as a mutual "threat."
The Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, made the remarks at a press briefing in Beijing on Friday, two days after the senior American and Japanese foreign and defense officials met in Washington, calling China's growing power the "greatest strategic challenge" in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
"The Asia-Pacific is an anchor for peace and development, not a wrestling ground for geopolitics. We Asia-Pacific countries support justice and cooperation and oppose hegemonism and confrontation," the spokesperson said.
Wang urged the United States and Japan "to abandon the Cold War mentality and ideological bias, stop creating imaginary enemies...and refrain from becoming countercurrents that destabilize the stability of the Asia-Pacific region."
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At the so-called two-plus-two meeting, US and Japanese officials claimed that their countries faced serious security threats from China, while also agreeing to modernize and optimize their alliance.
Observers believed that the announcement was the latest effort by Washington and Tokyo to increase cooperation in the event of a conflict with China over Taiwan.
China has sovereignty over Taiwan, and under the 'One-China' policy, almost all world countries recognize that sovereignty.
During the meeting, the four officials reaffirmed their countries' "basic position" on Taiwan, and the "importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, which is an essential element for the international community's safety and prosperity."
Wang further condemned the statement issued following the US-Japan meetings for being full of "groundless and slanderous attacks on China." "We firmly oppose it," he asserted.
"The US and Japan talk about promoting regional peace and security, but in fact, they find excuses for their military buildup and militarization...," he added.
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The meeting in Washington also featured the countries' officials pledging to reinforce, what they called, deterrence. Japan endorsed new security and defense strategy documents around two weeks ago, putting it on a path to acquiring "counterstrike" capabilities, including the potential purchase of hundreds of US-made Tomahawk cruise missiles.
The foreign and defense chiefs agreed to expand cooperation in order to achieve an "effective employment" of Japan's long-range strike capabilities and to promote joint research and development of cutting-edge military equipment.
