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U.S. seeks hegemony through 'Indo-Pacific Strategy': Chinese military official
Updated 22:39, 11-Jun-2022
CGTN
05:41

The United States is seeking to maintain regional hegemony through its "Indo-Pacific Strategy," which seriously jeopardizes the overall and long-term interests of countries throughout the region, Zhang Zhenzhong, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of China's Central Military Commission, told reporters on Saturday at the 19th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

His remarks came after a speech at the dialogue by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who presented the next steps of the Indo-Pacific strategy while making accusations about China which Zhang described as false.

"We express strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this," Zhang said.

A strategy serving U.S. interests

The U.S. "Indo-Pacific Strategy" is divisive, and designed to trap the region into a geopolitical game and confrontation, Zhang said.

It seriously impacts the ASEAN-centered (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) regional cooperation architecture and seriously harms the overall and long-term interests of countries in the region, he added.

The strategy is designed to destroy peace, Zhang said. He added that the mainstream voice of Asia-Pacific countries is peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, but the U.S., in contrast, advocates competition between major powers and creates military confrontation.

He said the strategy went against the historical trend and served the United States' own interests against the common will of the regional countries, and stressed that for these reasons it must not succeed.

Taiwan issue should be handled properly

05:13

The Taiwan issue is the one most likely to lead China-U.S. relations into conflict and confrontation, Zhang said, adding that if it is not handled properly, it will have a subversive impact on bilateral relations.

He said U.S. actions since the beginning of this year, such as sending officials to Taiwan region, arms sales to the region and claiming to strengthen Taiwan's "self-defense capabilities," undermine China's sovereignty and security interests.

The actions send a "wrong signal" to the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces and risk making the situation across the Taiwan Straits tense again, which is extremely dangerous, he warned.

There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is a part of China, the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government of China and the People's Liberation Army will relentlessly safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, he added.

Indisputable sovereignty over South China Sea

06:49

Zhang also touched on the South China Sea issue.

China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their surrounding waters, he said, adding that for a long time, normal navigation and overflight activities of all countries in the South China Sea have been unimpeded, and there has never been a problem with the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea.

Over the past two decades, China and ASEAN have worked together to steadily advance the consultations on a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, thus maintaining overall stability in the South China Sea, he added.

The 19th Shangri-La Dialogue, hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, opened in Singapore on Friday evening after a two-year COVID-19 pandemic hiatus.

Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe is leading the Chinese delegation to the dialogue, and will address a plenary session on Sunday.

(Cover: Zhang Zhenzhong, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of China's Central Military Commission. /CMG)

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