BEIJING, Apr. 14 -- China firmly opposes NATO's involvement in the Asia-Pacific affairs on the pretext of the so-called "China Challenge" to construct the "Asia-Pacific version of NATO", said Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, at a press conference on Friday.
Senior Colonel Tan made the remarks when commenting on NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s recent statement that in the face of the "security challenge" posed by China, NATO must deepen its engagement with partners in the Indo-Pacific region.
Senior Colonel Tan pointed out that in recent years, NATO has continuously broken traditional defense zones and fields, seeking to strengthen military and security ties with Asia Pacific countries. It has also deliberately stirred up conflicts and differences, advocated for camp confrontation, and created regional tensions, posing a real challenge and threat to regional and world peace and stability.
Senior Colonel Tan also noted that China never agrees with the antiquated mentality of big powers in seeking hegemony. China has solemnly enshrined "to stick to a path of peaceful development" in its Constitution, included "to safeguard world peace and oppose aggression and expansion" into its national defense law, and marked the building of a community with a shared future for mankind as the global significance of China's national defense in the new era.
“China has always been a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, a defender of the international order, and a provider of public goods,” stressed the spokesperson.