China warns Asian nations to avoid being used as ‘chess pieces’ by big powers

China has urged countries in southeast Asia to avoid being used as “chess pieces” by Western powers, calling for insulation of the region from foreign interventions.

Speaking at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) secretariat in Jakarta on Monday, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi said many countries in the region are under coercion to take sides in power rivalries.

“We should insulate this region from geopolitical calculations… from being used as chess pieces from major power rivalry and from coercion,” he stressed.

Owing to the strategic importance of the Southeast Asian region, Western powers have for long wooed regional countries for their hegemonic interests. 

“The future of our region should be in our own hands,” Wang stressed, warning that the region is at risk of being reshaped by geopolitical factors.

Wang’s remarks came on the heels of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Bali, where the Chinese foreign minister held a five-hour meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken with both describing their in-person talks as “candid”.

Referring to Beijing's relations with the US government, Wang on Monday said that both sides need to respect each other’s legitimate rights and interests in the Asia-Pacific region instead of seeking to antagonize or contain the other side.

“The core elements are to support ASEAN centrality, uphold the existing regional corporation framework, respect each other’s legitimate rights and interests in the Asia-Pacific instead of aiming to antagonize or contain the other side,” Wang said.

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China warns US over distorting 'One China' policy

Meanwhile, the top Chinese diplomat touched upon the issue of Taiwan and warned about some countries’ illusion of separating the island from China.

He said Washington is trying to “play the Taiwan card to disrupt and contain China’s development by distorting and hollowing out the One China policy.”

Under the ‘One China’ policy, almost all world countries recognize China’s sovereignty over Chinese Taipei. The United States, too, recognizes the principle but has long courted Taipei in an attempt to unnerve Beijing.

Beijing, on the other side, considers Taiwan as part of its territory and is embroiled in a dispute with Washington over its military and diplomatic support to the self-ruled island.

“The two sides across the Strait will enjoy peaceful development. But when the one-China principle is arbitrarily challenged or even sabotaged, there will be dark clouds or even ferocious storms across the strait,” Wang said.

Relations between China and the US have dramatically strained in the past few years over issues ranging from the coronavirus to Chinese Taipei, and American military movements in the Southeast Asian region.

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