Riyaz ul Khaliq
26 July 2024•Update: 26 July 2024
ISTANBUL
China and Russia have slammed what the two allies called “extra-regional" forces fanning tensions in the Asia-Pacific region.
At their first trilateral meeting in Vientiane, the top diplomats of China and Russia, Wang Yi and Sergey Lavrov, respectively, along with their Laos counterpart Saleumxay Kommasith, the trio expressed “concern over external forces stirring up trouble in the Asia-Pacific region.”
Vientiane, the capital of Laos, is hosting the foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for their annual summit.
The top diplomats of China, Russia, New Zealand, Japan, the US, and India are also attending the summit for separate, bloc-level meetings with the regional bloc.
Wang, Lavrov, and Kommasith “committed to strengthening coordination to de-escalate regional hotspots and maintain regional security and stability,” said a statement released on Friday by China’s Foreign Ministry.
It said the three nations will “jointly oppose power politics, resist camp confrontation, practice multilateralism, and defend fairness and justice.”
The concern over “extra-regional forces” by the three nations comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was set to land in Vientiane for a bloc-level summit with the ASEAN.
Blinken is also set to meet with Wang for bilateral talks, before he flies to Japan for an official trip.
During his bilateral meeting with Wang, after holding a trilateral meeting with their Laos counterpart on Thursday, Lavrov said: "We believe in the importance of continuing this dialogue to combine our efforts in countering any attempts by extra-regional forces to interfere in Southeast Asian affairs and to contribute to its wellbeing and prosperity."
