China’s minister van Buitenlandse Zaken liet maandag weten dat de Amerikaanse strategie richting een Indo-Aziatische NATO hoogst onwenselijk is.

Hoe China kijkt naar de huidige verhouding met de USA is voor Azië van eminent belang:

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday warned the US against trying to create a NATO-style military alliance in the Asia Pacific.
Wang made the comments when discussing Washington’s recently released Indo-Pacific strategy, which calls for the US to bolster alliances and partnerships in the region to counter China. “The real goal of the US Indo-Pacific strategy is to establish an Indo-Pacific version of NATO,” Wang said at a press conference.

Niet alleen vanwege Hongkong, maar ook vanwege de positie van Taiwan. China voelt zich ongemakkelijk om te worden opgenomen in een geopolitieke strategie.

“It seeks to maintain the US-led system of hegemony, undermine the ASEAN-centered regional cooperation architecture, and compromise the overall and long-term interests of countries in the region,” he said.
Wang cited the new AUKUS military pact between the US, Britain, and Australia, and Washington’s military cooperation with other Quad nations as examples of the US building alliances in the region. He said such efforts by the US are done in the name of advancing cooperation but are really “stoking geopolitical rivalry.”

Vanzelfsprekend vind Wang dat de verhouding van China met Taiwan niet is te vergelijken met de Oekraïne-situatie, maar voegde daar wat opmerkingen over ontwikkelingen in Taiwan aan toe:

During the Trump administration, US officials openly floated the idea of using the Quad — which includes the US, Japan, India, and Australia — as the foundation for a NATO-style military alliance in Asia. In 2020, the Quad nations held military exercises together for the first time since 2007, and have held more since.
Wang was asked if the current situation with Russia and Ukraine was similar to China’s relationship with Taiwan. He said the issues are not “comparable at all” but warned the US against supporting the growth of “independence” forces in Taiwan.
“Some forces in the US, in a bid to hold back China’s rejuvenation, have condoned and abetted the growth of separatist forces for ‘Taiwan independence’ and tried tochallenge and hollow out the one-China principle,” Wang said.

Hij voegde er nog een nauwelijks bedekt dreigement aan toe:

“This gravely violates the basic norms of international relations and puts the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait in serious jeopardy. This would not only push Taiwan into a precarious situation, but also bring unbearable consequences for the US side,” he added.

Wang Yi unplugged:

"Ukraine and Taiwan are two very different issues. Taiwan will eventually 'return into the embrace of the homeland'."

"The true purpose of the United States' new strategy in the Indo-Pacific region is to try to create an Indo-Pacific version of NATO."

— Pepe Escobar (@RealPepeEscobar) March 7, 2022

Komt er een Oekraïne-stijl achtige inval in Taiwan? Vooralsnog lijkt China er geen meerwaarde in te zien, maar als de USA de duimschroeven te hard aandraait in verband met Oekraïne en Rusland, zou het Chinese leiderschap kunnen besluiten dat men het maar beter alvast achter de rug kan hebben.

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