CHINA DAILY
Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are not “chess pieces in geopolitical competition”, and the United States should give up its Cold War mentality and “small groups for confrontation in the Indo-Pacific” region, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said. Wang made the remarks on Monday after the US announced it would host a US-ASEAN Special Summit on May 12 and 13 in Washington, which ASEAN said is the second bilateral special summit since 2016 and the first in-person engagement for ASEAN and US leaders since 2017.
The Asia-Pacific is a region for cooperation and development, not a chessboard for games between major powers, Wang said at a daily news conference, pointing out that every party should treasure the fact that the region is maintaining peace, stability and development in general.
The US should comply with regional countries’ shared aspiration for peace and win-win cooperation, and respect the political systems, development paths and cultural values of Asian countries while participating in East Asian regional cooperation, Wang said. The spokesman also called on the US to follow the “ASEAN way”, which is characterized by openness, inclusiveness and consensus through consultations, take concrete measures to honor its commitment to supporting ASEAN’s central role and do more to facilitate peace, development and prosperity in the region.
