China Committed to Maintaining Peace in Asia-Pacific — Foreign Ministry
In this image supplied by the Australian Department of Defence, Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) Intelligence Collection Vessel Haiwangxing operating off the north-west shelf of Australia, Wednesday, May 11, 2022.
BEIJING, (Sputnik) — China is committed to maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and does not seek confrontation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a briefing on Monday. Earlier this day, Philippine Defense Minister Gilberto Teodoro told Reuters that China could use the recent scaling back of US-South Korea military exercises as an opportunity to strengthen its position in the Indo-Pacific region. «China is always committed to maintaining peace and stability in the Asia Pacific, and does not engage in major-country confrontation. We hope other regional countries will also play a positive role for peace and stability in the region,» Mao said when asked to comment on Teodoro’s statement. She expressed hope that the relevant countries will also be able to play a positive role in ensuring peace and stability in the region. US President Donald Trump previously announced that he had instructed Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth to scale back the scope of joint military exercises with South Korea, calling the maneuvers themselves unnecessary.
