China says Asean cooperation shouldn’t be ‘hollowed out’ in swipe at US

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has warned against efforts to bypass Asean with new regional cooperation channels, in a veiled swipe at the United States and its allies.

Wang also took aim at what he said was “groundless” criticism and “platitudes” from the US and Japan over China’s human rights record in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, issues he said Association of Southeast Asian Nations members had stayed out of.

He made the remarks on Wednesday evening at the virtual East Asia Summit of foreign ministers from Asean, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the US.

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Wang said multilateralism was the “correct path” to resolving complicated problems in the world, but the region should “be wary of all kinds of pseudo-multilateralism and, in particular, resist the use of multilateralism to foment bloc confrontation”.

“Asean’s centrality in regional cooperation should not be hollowed out, and the existing mature regional cooperation mechanisms should not be set up in another way,” he said, according to the Chinese foreign ministry readout.

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Wang also accused the US and Japan of interfering in China’s affairs in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.

“Individual countries such as the US are trying to take advantage of this multilateral platform and blatantly meddling in China’s domestic affairs,” Wang said.

“If you want to talk about genocide, the real genocide was the massacre of Indians in the United States. It was a real crime against humanity when the United States unleashed wars everywhere, killing and injuring a large number of innocent civilians,” he told the meeting.

China has been accused by the US and other countries of genocide and crimes against humanity over its treatment of Uygurs and other Muslim minorities in the far western region of Xinjiang – allegations Beijing has rejected.

The Chinese foreign minister also defended Beijing’s move to impose a national security law in Hong Kong. “How dare you express your so-called concern now? What is your concern? Do they want to bring Hong Kong back to chaos and turmoil? Do they want the ‘Hong Kong independence’ forces to take to the streets again?” Wang said. “I must tell you clearly that you should give up your hope, for it is impossible to wait for that day.”

The summit comes as tensions have flared between China and the US in the region, which has emerged as another area of geopolitical rivalry between the two powers. As Beijing seeks closer ties with its Southeast Asian neighbours, the US has been pushing to revive its influence in the region – including through its Quad alliance with Japan, India and Australia – to counter China.

US officials, including defence chief Lloyd Austin who has just visited the region, have repeatedly called for support on a “free and open Indo-Pacific”, a strategy Beijing sees as part of efforts to contain its growing clout in the region.

Addressing the meeting on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed the US commitment to Asean and the East Asia Summit, “underscoring the essential role of Asean-centred [forums] in the US vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific”, according to spokesman Ned Price.

The intensifying rivalry between China and the US has unnerved nations in the region, who are reluctant to pick a side.

Speaking by video link at the Aspen Security Forum on Tuesday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called on the US and China to de-escalate tensions, saying both powers presumed incorrectly they would win in any conflict.

More from South China Morning Post:

• Asean appoints Brunei diplomat Erywan Yusof as envoy to Myanmar
• US and Indonesia stage joint military drill as Washington steps up engagement with Southeast Asia
• China and the US step up their tug of war for Southeast Asian allies

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