Enhancing military cooperation with countries including those in Southeast Asia is an important aspect of China’s military diplomacy, Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Sunday.
China’s joint drills highlight cooperation and the safeguarding of regional peace and stability, particularly when it comes to non-traditional security threats like terrorism, drug trafficking and piracy, Song said.
On the contrary, the U.S. has been rallying allies in the Asia-Pacific region like the Philippines, Japan and South Korea in holding joint military drills in the traditional security field in attempts to threaten other countries’ sovereignty, security and development interests, sabotaging regional peace and stability in a confrontational manner, Song said.
Under this situation, the joint exercises with China’s participation can counter the negative influence of the zero-sum security view and provide positive energy, experts said.