BEIJING (REUTERS, NYTIMES) - China's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday (March 17) said it has lodged stern representations with the United States and Japan over a statement from both countries' senior officials that raised concerns about Beijing's behaviour in a range of areas.
China is strongly urging the US and Japan to stop interfering in China's internal affairs, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular news briefing.
The joint statement issued on Tuesday (March 16) by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin as well as Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi said they had serious concerns "about recent disruptive developments in the region such as the China Coast Guard law".
The two-page statement came just days before the Biden administration's first face-to-face encounter with China.
Accusing Beijing of violating the "international order" with maritime claims and activities, the statement defended Japan's right to administer the uninhabited Senkaku Islands, which are also claimed by China, which calls them the Diaoyu Islands.
The statement also called for stability in the Taiwan Strait.
In January, China flew four warplanes over the waterway, in what was widely interpreted as a show of force just after US President Joe Biden took office.
The statement also cited "serious concerns" regarding Beijing's human rights abuses against protesters in Hong Kong and against Uighurs in the western region of Xinjiang.
Mr Zhao said the US-Japan joint statement "maliciously attacked China's foreign policy, seriously interfered in China's internal affairs and tried to harm China's interests".
"China is strongly dissatisfied with this and firmly opposes it," he told reporters.
Mr Zhao noted that "there is only one international order, that with the United Nations at its core".
"The US and Japan have no right to unilaterally define international relations, nor are they qualified to impose their standards on others," he added.
On Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, the South China Sea, and the Diaoyu Islands or Senkaku Islands, Mr Zhao said China's position is "consistent and clear".
"The US-Japan joint statement ignores the historical perspective of the issue and ignores the facts and truth. It is just another example of the US and Japan working in cahoots, interfering in China's internal affairs and an example of slandering and smearing China."
He accused the US and Japan of sticking to a Cold War mentality and deliberately engaging in "group confrontation".
"This move by the US and Japan will bring only chaos, and even conflict, to the region, and will only make the world more aware of the US-Japan plot to disrupt the peace and stability of the region," he added.
