Lies and battle groups, US' contribution to region

This photo taken on Aug 16, 2022 shows the White House in Washington, DC, the United States. [Photo/Xinhua]

This is an editorial from China Daily.

It is no secret that the United States has always sought to drive a wedge between China and its neighboring countries on issues related to the South China Sea as part of its "Indo-Pacific" strategy to contain China's rise. Yet even so, some might naively find it hard to believe Washington would stoop so low as to tell outright lies in an official statement.

Given that Indonesia and other regional countries share common aspirations and interests with China to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea and work together for common development, it is totally incomprehensible that the US should claim that the country is willing to be used as a pawn in the US-orchestrated geopolitical game, as a US Department of Defense statement suggests.

In a statement it issued last week after a meeting between US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto, the US Defense Department has tried to describe the defense partnership the two countries are working to build as a strategic alliance to counter China in the South China Sea. "They shared the view that the People's Republic of China's expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea are inconsistent with international law as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea", it said.

Indonesia, which is not a claimant state in the South China Sea, has played an active part in working with the other member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China to finalize a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea. China and ASEAN have already completed the second reading of the COC, which when finalized will enable them to enhance cooperation and reduce the risk of conflict in the waters.

The Chinese embassy in Indonesia has already rebuffed the US statement as complete fabrication. "We're informed by the Indonesian side that what the US side described is not true. In fact, no such content can be found in the news release by the Indonesian side on the same meeting," it said in a statement.

Actually, by putting words into the mouths of others the US is going all out to pit as many regional countries as it can against China, not just Indonesia. On Sunday, visiting US Vice Admiral Karl Thomas, commander of the US Navy's Seventh Fleet, assured the Philippines of US backing in the face of "shared challenges" in the region, saying: "My forces are out here for a reason."

The US, a country outside of the region, should stop trying to sow discord and stir up trouble in the South China Sea, which is detrimental to the interests of all countries in the region.