July 20, 2025

On Sunday, Japanese media outlet Nikkei Asia published an interview with Mignon Houston, deputy spokesperson for the US State Department. In the interview, the US official warned that Indo-Pacific countries should "be mindful and responsible when making decisions" on working with China. Although she acknowledged China's major role in the region, she simultaneously made groundless accusations that China was "fostering economic coercion, manipulation, dependency." She also encouraged countries to see the US as "an alternative for economic cooperation," claiming that it was important that "ASEAN countries are not dependent on one economy, not dependent on only one source."

What the US refers to as the "Indo-Pacific" is essentially what people commonly call the "Asia-Pacific." Houston's remarks, devoid of any real substance, plainly reveal the US intention to maintain its strategic monopoly in the Asia-Pacific region. By exaggerating China's regional influence, she is in fact interfering with the legitimate right of China and Asia-Pacific countries to cooperate. Her narrative of the US as a mere "alternative" or "backup" partner to ASEAN is, in essence, a thinly veiled expression of Washington's desire to uphold its dominance in the region. The US implicitly coerces Asia-Pacific countries to take sides between the US and China, while using grandiose terms like "mindful" and "responsible" to disguise its intention to disrupt the region's established order, seeking justification for its so-called "Indo-Pacific Strategy."

Houston's accusations against China have seriously distorted the reality of China's cooperation with Asia-Pacific countries. As a US scholar once noted, some Lao passengers removed their shoes and left them on the platform before boarding the China-Laos Railway train - a customary practice before entering one's home in Laos - indicating Laotians clearly felt comfortable with the Chinese-funded and Chinese-built railway. Over the years, China's economic and trade cooperation with Asia-Pacific countries has significantly contributed to regional development and shared prosperity, while also playing a constructive role in safeguarding peace and stability - facts that are widely recognized. In contrast, while regional countries are eager for options like free trade agreements and people-to-people exchanges, Washington unfortunately presents a policy prescription of conflict and confrontation.

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