BEIJING, May 27 -- No strategy should instigate countries to establish selective and exclusive military alliances, to gang up or to create the “New Cold War” featuring bloc confrontation, and the zero-sum game will only lead to more division, antagonism and chaos, said Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, at a regular press conference in Beijing on May 27.
Senior Colonel Tan made the remarks when responding to the media reports that after taking office, the Biden administration continued to promote the “Indo-Pacific strategy” with an increasingly prominent intention to deter China and made frequent military provocations against China.
Tan said that China always holds that no strategy should go against the historical trend of peace and development, or deliberately hype up conflict and confrontation. The strategy of intensifying military presence and highlighting military competition will only aggravate regional tensions and endanger world peace and stability. No strategy should harm the welfare of people in regional countries, or put them in a dangerous situation. Seeking one’s own selfish interests and unilateral absolute security will only do harm to others and lose the support.
In addition, America’s Foreign Policy magazine quoted an anonymous US Defense Department official as saying that the US government intends to put in place more defense hotlines with China to manage security risks and prevent potential conflicts. When commenting on this, Spokesperson Tan said that for a long time, the Chinese and American militaries have always maintained communication through multiple channels, including the direct line between the two defense ministries. Regarding the increase of defense hotlines with China, we believe that its purpose is to enhance trust, reduce misgivings, manage crises, and prevent conflicts. The US side should not, on the one hand, claim to put up new defense hotlines, while on the other hand keep ramping up military deployments in the Asian Pacific region, frequently conduct close-in reconnaissance on China, and even deliberately initiate dangerous circumstances where aircraft and vessels nearly collide.
Tan stressed that China advises the US side to keep their words and match their deeds accordingly, display sincerity, work with the Chinese side toward the same goal, and push forward the healthy and stable development of mil-to-mil relations by intensifying dialogue and communication and properly managing divergences.
