The defence ministry of China announced on Friday that the Chinese and French militaries have set up a new dialogue mechanism for inter-theatre cooperation. According to Wang Xiubin, commander of China’s Southern Theater Command, this development will enhance mutual trust and cooperation between the two forces and contribute to regional security and stability. This was stated following his discussions with France’s joint commander of the Asia-Pacific zone and armed forces in French Polynesia.
The senior official conveyed the Chinese military’s readiness to enhance mutual understanding and trust across all levels with the navies of other nations.
“We must firmly reject the Cold War mentality, the politics of force is not favoured, and division and confrontation have no way out,” he stressed.
Security concerns and the legitimate interests of all countries must be respected, Zhang added.
The 19th meeting of the Western Pacific Naval Symposium was held from April 21-24 in Qingdao, China. Organised by the Chinese navy, the event was attended by over 180 representatives from high-level delegations of 29 countries, including Russia, Australia, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Zhang’s remarks come as thousands of Filipino and American troops kicked off Monday joint military drills that will go beyond the Philippines’ territorial waters in a first.
The annual drills – codenamed Balikatan, or “shoulder to shoulder” in Tagalog – will be concentrated in the northern and western parts of the archipelago nation, near the potential flashpoints of the South China Sea and Taiwan.
