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China calls on Asean to resist US, Nato moves in ‘zone of peace, freedom, neutrality’
- Top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi hammers home message at foreign ministers’ forum in Laos, as bloc gets caught up in deepening US-China rivalry
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![The US-led “Indo-Pacific strategy” worsens security dilemmas and runs counter to the vision of long-term peace and prosperity in the region, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said. Photo: Reuters](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1020x680/public/d8/images/canvas/2024/07/28/26cbf429-8fdd-44db-b0bc-75ceb14074bc_fc50eef8.jpg?itok=Yr2_LVVB&v=1722170865)
Beijing has urged Southeast Asian countries to resist alleged US and Nato-led “external interference” in the South China Sea and other regional hotspots, stepping up pressure on its neighbours amid an escalating war of words with Washington.
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Top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi hammered home the message on the sidelines of an Asean foreign ministers’ meeting in Laos last week, saying that the United States had “no right” to intervene in the South China Sea.
Wang’s comments come at a time of heightened maritime tensions between China and the Philippines, a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and one of the oldest US treaty allies in Asia.
Caught up in the deepening US-China rivalry for regional dominance, the 10 Asean member states expressed their “concerns” in a joint statement at the end of the three-day gathering on Saturday.
Observers said the statement underlined deep divisions within the grouping.
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