Beijing: Russia and China have voiced their opposition to the Western initiatives aimed at militarizing the Asia-Pacific region.

According to Anadolu Agency, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko and China's Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong met in Beijing, where they jointly expressed their concerns over the "actions and plans of the collective West."

The officials stated their disapproval of efforts to deploy NATO-standard military infrastructure in the region and criticized attempts to impose Indo-Pacific strategies. They emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperation within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to address emerging security challenges, particularly with the rise of selective military-political alliances.

Rudenko and Sun also explored various bilateral cooperation issues, considering the ongoing situations in Myanmar, Afghanistan, the Korean Peninsula, and broader northeast Asia. These discussions followed Rudenko's meeting with China's Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Bin, focusing on China-Russia relations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's matters.

Both nations highlighted the progress in their relationship under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin, noting that China-Russia ties are expected to further develop by 2025. Russian estimates project that the trade volume between the two countries will surpass $220 billion, despite Western criticism due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine since early 2022.