Lavrov: West pushing for narrow security formulas in Asia-Pacific to contain Russia, China

This came in a press conference held by Lavrov today, Saturday, after his participation in the Russia-ASEAN meeting and the East Asia Summit Ministerial Meeting in Vientiane, the capital of Laos.

“ASEAN is ready to hold a substantive discussion on this issue (Putin’s initiative),” Lavrov said, adding that the discussion at the meeting with representatives of the ASEAN participating countries revolved around “the need to develop a unified and indivisible security system on the Eurasian continent, which would be open to all Eurasian countries and all organizations present in the region.”

On June 14, at a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Putin noted the collapse of the former Euro-Atlantic security system and proposed building a new structure that would take into account the interests of all Eurasian states.

Lavrov pointed out that the West, for its part, is trying to pass narrower forms of cooperation in the region with the “open and undisguised” goal of containing Russia and China, adding: “Our partners in ASEAN are well aware of this.”

Taiwan issue

Lavrov warned that the West is pursuing a confrontational approach in the Taiwan Strait, by “arming Taiwan, organizing various military activities there, sending high-level delegations to the island, and hosting delegations from the Taiwanese administration.”

“All of this is certainly contrary to the ‘one China’ principle and aims to perpetuate the status quo, and the status quo means that the West views Taiwan as a separate entity from the People’s Republic of China,” he said.

Korean Peninsula

Lavrov touched on the concerns raised by the joint nuclear planning agreement between the United States and South Korea, saying: “So far we cannot even get an explanation of what it means, but there is no doubt that this causes additional concerns. Moreover, they are trying to draw Japan into this joint nuclear planning project.”

Lavrov pointed to the fact that many “troikas and quartets” have been created in the region, and said: “For example, the United States, Japan and South Korea are actively escalating the atmosphere around the Korean Peninsula, militarizing their presence there and conducting exercises that are openly aimed at preparing for military action.”

Lavrov is visiting Laos from July 25 to 27, and held several bilateral meetings on Thursday, before participating in a meeting of foreign ministers in the “Russia-ASEAN” format on Friday. The minister is also expected to attend the ASEAN Regional Security Forum on Saturday.

Source: RT