The US wants to create an Asia-Pacific version of NATO to maintain its hegemony, a senior Chinese military official was quoted by AFP and BTA as saying today. Lieutenant General Jing Jiangfeng said this on the sidelines of the international conference on security issues "Dialogue Shangri-La" in Singapore, where earlier in the day Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin emphasized that the security of the United States passes through the security of Asia.
The Asia-Pacific region "remains our priority", the US defense secretary made clear and welcomed a "new security era" there.
In response, Jing, a senior official of China's Central Military Commission, said the US Indo-Pacific strategy aims to "sow division, provoke confrontation and undermine stability,", Reuters reported.
This strategy "serves only the selfish geopolitical interests of the United States and contradicts historical trends and the common aspiration of the countries of the region for peace, development and mutually beneficial cooperation,", he argued.
These comments were made following yesterday's meeting in Singapore between US and Chinese Defense Ministers Lloyd Austin and Dong Jun.