Military cooperation between Russia and China is not directed against third parties and poses threat to no country, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Tuesday, urging Tokyo to stop escalating tensions in the region.
“Regarding Sino-Russian military cooperation, we have repeatedly expressed our stance. The cooperation in question is not directed against third parties, it is fully in line with international law and international practice, it poses no threat to any country,” Wang told a briefing.
The spokesman also noted that no one has the right to make irresponsible statements regarding military cooperation between the two countries.
“We call on Japan to correct the erroneous practice of exacerbating regional tensions, to stop provoking and artificially creating bloc confrontation, to build a position on constructive and stable relations with China and implement it with real actions,” Wang added.
Earlier in the day, Japan published its official annual foreign policy report. The document stated that Tokyo is concerned and committed, from a national security perspective, to continuing to closely monitor the strengthening military ties between Russia and China, in particular their joint air and sea patrols near Japan. The document referred to the Vostok-2022 strategic military drills in the Indo-Pacific region and joint patrols by naval vessels near Japan in September 2022, as well as joint overflights of the Russian armed forces and Chinese military bombers in November 2022.
