China slams US, Japan, Quad alliance as ‘threats to regional peace and stability’

Beijing fires back after US-Japan ‘2+2’ talks label China as ‘greatest’ Indo-Pacific challenge and Quad cites ‘coercion’ in South China Sea

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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (centre) greets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as
foreign ministerial counterparts (from left) Subrahmanyam Jaishankar of India, Yoko Kamikawa of Japan and Penny Wong of Australia look on, after their Quad meeting in Tokyo on Monday. Photo: AFP

Alyssa Chen

Published: 7:39pm, 29 Jul 2024Updated: 8:21pm, 29 Jul 2024

China has accused the US and its allies of threatening regional peace and stability by forming blocs and fanning tensions, after US-Japan “2+2” talks and “Quad” foreign ministers highlighted the need to counter Beijing.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Monday that Japan and the United States were compromising the security interests of other countries in the name of promoting a rules-based international order.

“They claim to promote regional peace and a rules-based international order but are actually forming blocs, cobbling together exclusionary groupings, manipulating political games and creating confrontations, which are the real threats to regional peace and stability,” Lin said.

He added that attempts by the two countries to boost nuclear deterrence and extended deterrence – or efforts to discourage attacks on partners – would only increase regional tensions and the risks of nuclear proliferation and conflict.

Lin’s comments followed 2+2 security talks on Sunday between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and their Japanese counterparts, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defence Minister Minoru Kihara in Tokyo.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese counterpart Yoko Kamikawa took part in security talks in Tokyo on Sunday. Photo: AP

In a joint statement after the talks, the treaty allies labelled China as the “greatest strategic challenge” in the Indo-Pacific region.