China has urged countries in southeast Asia to avoid being used as “chess pieces” by Western powers, calling for insulation of the region from foreign interventions.
Speaking at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) secretariat in Jakarta on Monday, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi said many countries in the region are under coercion to take sides in power rivalries.
“We should insulate this region from geopolitical calculations… from being used as chess pieces from major power rivalry and from coercion,” he stressed.
Owing to the strategic importance of the Southeast Asian region, Western powers have for long wooed regional countries for their hegemonic interests.
“The future of our region should be in our own hands,” Wang stressed, warning that the region is at risk of being reshaped by geopolitical factors.
Wang’s remarks came on the heels of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Bali, where the Chinese foreign minister held a five-hour meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken with both describing their in-person talks as “candid”.
Referring to Beijing’s relations with the US government, Wang on Monday said that both sides need to respect each other’s legitimate rights and interests in the Asia-Pacific region instead of seeking to antagonize or contain the other side.
“The core elements are to support ASEAN centrality, uphold the existing regional corporation framework, respect each other’s legitimate rights and interests in the Asia-Pacific instead of aiming to antagonize or contain the other side,” Wang said.
