Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on Friday criticised the US and groupings like the Quad and said “in order to contain China, a front is forming.”  He made these remarks here in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meet chaired by India.

His remarks came against the backdrop of China flexing its muscles in the strategically important Indo-Pacific region and the Quad summit poised to take place on May 24 in Australia.  India, US, Japan and Australia are part of this grouping. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will take part in the summit.

Moreover, Russian defence minister’s backing China came a day after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh sent a tough message to Beijing that its violation of the border pacts has “eroded” the entire basis of bilateral ties with India. 

He made these observations in the context of ongoing tension at the Line of Actual Control(LAC)IN Eastern Ladakh for the last three years.

Shoigu said that “in order to contain China, a front is forming”.

He alleged that the tension around the “so-called” Taiwan problem is purposely escalated, and that territorial disputes in the South China Sea and East China Sea are being heated.

“In our understanding, one of the major achievements in the Asia-Pacific region is bloc-free and equal interaction. And it must be preserved,” he said in his address.

Talking about what he termed as the “most pressing military-political problems”, the Russian defance minister said Washington and its enablers are pursuing their strategic agenda of provoking other countries into military confrontation with undesirable states, most notably Russia and China.

“The conflict in Ukraine is a clear demonstration of this criminal policy. Its real aim is to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, threaten China, and maintain its monopoly position in the world,” the Russian defence minister said.

He said the SCO independent policies concerning regional and global security challenges could set an example for the international community.