China’s Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng has warned that the Asia-Pacific would suffer from “unimaginable consequences” and be pushed into “an abyss” if a Ukraine-like crisis were to occur in the region.
His comments followed President Xi Jinping’s Friday video call with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden, during which the two leaders vowed support to a diplomatic settlement to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Speaking at a Saturday forum hosted by the Tsinghua University’s Center for International Security and Strategy, the first-ranked vice foreign minister said the war in Eastern Europe has provided people in the Asia-Pacific with a mirror to reflect upon its future, which boils down to two opposing choices.
“Should we build an open and inclusive family for win-win cooperation or go for small blocs based on the Cold War mentality and group confrontation?” he asked.
Without naming the United States, Le pointed to the danger of Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy designed to contain China’s influence in Asia-Pacific through regional alliances.
“To pursue the Indo-Pacific strategy, provoke trouble, put together closed and exclusive small circles or groups, and take the region off course toward fragmentation and bloc-based division is as dangerous as the NATO strategy of eastward expansion in Europe,” he said.
“If allowed to go on unchecked, it would bring unimaginable consequences, and ultimately push the Asia-Pacific over the edge of an abyss,” he warned without elaboration.
Le added that the region has maintained overall peace for several decades, and thus, regional actors “must promote unity and cooperation and not create division and confrontation” as well as “pursue independence and self-strength and not let others decide our future.”
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Contact reporter Lu Zhenhua (zhenhualu@caixin.com) editor Bertrand Teo (bertrandteo@caixin.com)
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