Chinese military official calls for safeguarding APAC security

A senior Chinese military official on Friday called for peaceful coexistence among countries and jointly safeguarding Asia-Pacific security.

Lieutenant General He Lei reiterated that China will always follow the path of peaceful development, Xinhua reported.

"China always adheres to the path of peaceful development, and believes that all countries, big or small, strong or weak, should be equal, coexist peacefully and jointly safeguard security in the Asia-Pacific region," He Lei said.

He Lei, who heads the Chinese delegation to the ongoing Shangri-La Dialogue, said the Chinese delegation will expound on China's foreign policy of peace as well as its defensive national defense policy, particularly against the backdrop of various security risks and challenges in the international situation.

The general said Chinese President Xi Jinping, from a perspective of world peace and development, has proposed the promotion of a new type of international relations with win-win cooperation as the core, practicing the Asian security concept and building a community of shared future for mankind.

With regard to the remarks made by Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at the dinner on the Korean Peninsular issue and regional rules, He Lei said, "I think he has ignored the basic fact that the crux of the issue is the strategic distrust between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the US."

"And when we talk about rules, to my opinion, international rules should reflect general consensus of all countries, and they should not be unilaterally interpreted and decided by some countries," He Lei said, stressing that regional rules should demonstrate shared interests and values of the region.

The senior Chinese military official also recalled his meetings with dialogue participants at the reception and the dinner. They included participants from France, Britain, the United States, Singapore and Laos.

The Chinese military attaches importance to joining multilateral dialogue mechanisms in the Asia-Pacific region, He Lei said, adding that the Chinese military has participated in the Shangri-La Dialogue for 11 years in a row since 2007.

--IANS

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