China’s military on Thursday criticised large scale military exercises held by the US and its allies in the South China Sea and Malabar naval drills by Quad countries, saying Washington is instigating confrontation by “forming gangs” which will lead to tensions.
Practicing unilateralism and instigating confrontation will only lead to tension, instead of bringing about so-called “freedom and openness”, Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of National Defence, told an online media briefing while commenting on the recent US-led multinational joint exercises in the Indo-Pacific region as well as Malabar naval exercise by Quad countries - India, the US, Australia and Japan.
The US military recently held the Large-Scale Exercise (LSE) 2021 with the UK, Australia and Japan with the aim to strengthen the rules-based regional order and maintain a “free and open Indo-Pacific”.
The Malabar naval exercise are scheduled to be held from August 26 to 29 off the coast of Guam amid mounting global concerns over China’s growing military muscle-flexing in the Indo-Pacific region.
Tan said that the US, for some time, by perceiving some other countries as its imaginary enemies, “organised large-scale military exercises, formed gangs in relevant waters and showed off its military strength”, the Chinese military’s official