Beijing: On the United States‘ proposal for a working-level quadrilateral meeting with India, Japan, and Australia, China on Sunday said that Beijing hopes the meeting wouldn’t target or damage a “third party’s interest”. The United States has been looking to offer countries in the Indo-Pacific region an alternative to predatory financing, the State Department had said last month, PTI reported. China, however, saw the proposal as a threat to its influence in the region.
“China hopes the collaboration among relevant countries could comply with the trend of times, which refers to peace, development, and cooperation and shared benefits, and also conform to the prospects of the regions and nations for common security and development,” the ministry told PTI. (Also Read: China Blocks India’s Move to Get ‘Global Terrorist’ Tag For Masood Azhar)
The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Sunday said that Beijing hoped that such a proposal would help in promoting mutual trust among countries in the region and not harm its interest. “We hope it would be beneficial for improving the mutual trust among countries and regions, at the same time safeguarding and promoting peace, tranquillity, and prosperity within the area, without targeting or damaging a third party’s interest,” it said.
State Department’s Acting Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice G Wells had earlier said that Australia would be a natural partner when the countries seek to inculcate some of the values – “freedom of navigation, maritime security, humanitarian assistance, disaster response, transparency”.
Freedom of navigation is referred to unhindered movement of ships and flights in the disputed the South China Sea where Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan have counterclaims over the resource-rich area.
“China hopes the collaboration among relevant countries could comply with the trend of times, which refers to peace, development, and cooperation and shared benefits, and also conform to the prospects of the regions and nations for common security and development,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry told PTI.
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