NEW DELHI, April 28. /TASS/. Washington and its allies are most actively opposing the formation of a multipolar world in the Asia-Pacific Region (APR), Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Friday.
"The West's resistance to strengthening multipolarity is most active in the Asia-Pacific Region, where the United States initiated the collapse of the existing ASEAN-based system of regional cooperation," Shoigu told a meeting of SCO defense ministers in New Delhi.
He stressed that the process began with the creation of political and military blocs, such as the Indo-Pacific association QUAD, which includes the United States, India, Australia and Japan, and AUKUS, formed by Australia, Britain and the United States.
"They are being spliced with NATO, which, in turn, lays claim to a dominant role here as well," Shoigu said.
He noted that the concept of ostensibly free and open Indo-Pacific Region that was being pressed for "implies the creation of a bloc system of intergovernmental relations in which the Americans assume the power to determine the norms and rules of conduct."
"A front is being formed to contain China. The so-called Taiwan problem is intentionally aggravated and territorial disputes in the South China Sea and East China Sea are being fueled," Shoigu said. He believes that one of the main achievements in the APR - bloc-free and equitable interaction - must be preserved by all means.
"The mechanisms of cooperation with extra-regional partners formed here have shown their relevance and effectiveness. First of all, this concerns the meeting of ASEAN defense ministers and partners - the ADMM platform - focused on addressing urgent security issues," Shoigu said.