Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has claimed that the West is attempting to drive a wedge between India and China. Lavrov said the West is deliberately provoking tensions between the two Asian neighbours, according to state-run TASS news agency.
"Take note of the current developments in the Asia-Pacific region, which the West has started calling the Indo-Pacific region to give its policy a clear anti-China orientation - expecting thereby to additionally drive a wedge between our great friends and neighbors India and China," Lavrov pointed out.
"This is a policy that Russian President Vladimir Putin recently highlighted again - ‘divide and conquer,’" Lavrov added.
Lavrov also warned that the West is seeking to erode the role of ASEAN in regional affairs.
“As in other parts of the world, Western powers want to dominate here as well. They are attempting to weaken ASEAN’s central role — a framework that served everyone well for many decades,” he said. ASEAN, he added, had long functioned as a space of political, defence, and military cooperation between its members and external partners.
ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a regional bloc of 10 Southeast Asian countries Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. The group focuses on fostering economic and security collaboration in the region.
Lavrov criticised the West for undermining ASEAN's principle of consensus and for encouraging divisive regional groupings. “The search for common ground and consensus is being set aside. Some ASEAN countries are being enticed into exclusive, confrontational formats — various troikas and quartets,” he said.
Lavrov also advocated for a continent-wide security mechanism in Eurasia.
“Eurasia is home to numerous civilisations that have preserved their identities into the modern era. And yet, it is the only continent lacking a unifying structure,” he said. He called for the harmonisation of interests among major powers and civilisations across Eurasia.
He pointed out that while Africa has the African Union, and Latin America and the Caribbean are represented through CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States), no such pan-continental organisation currently exists in Eurasia.
Also read: Russia and Ukraine to hold their first peace talks in 3 years amid low expectations
"Take note of the current developments in the Asia-Pacific region, which the West has started calling the Indo-Pacific region to give its policy a clear anti-China orientation - expecting thereby to additionally drive a wedge between our great friends and neighbors India and China," Lavrov pointed out.
"This is a policy that Russian President Vladimir Putin recently highlighted again - ‘divide and conquer,’" Lavrov added.
The West Is Plotting To Fracture India-Russia-China Relations, Says 🇷🇺 FM Lavrov
— RT_India (@RT_India_news) May 16, 2025
Western policy in the region is an attempt to make a "clash" between "our great friends and neighbours India and China,” he said. pic.twitter.com/qKNgolOjA2
Lavrov also warned that the West is seeking to erode the role of ASEAN in regional affairs.
“As in other parts of the world, Western powers want to dominate here as well. They are attempting to weaken ASEAN’s central role — a framework that served everyone well for many decades,” he said. ASEAN, he added, had long functioned as a space of political, defence, and military cooperation between its members and external partners.
ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a regional bloc of 10 Southeast Asian countries Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. The group focuses on fostering economic and security collaboration in the region.
Lavrov criticised the West for undermining ASEAN's principle of consensus and for encouraging divisive regional groupings. “The search for common ground and consensus is being set aside. Some ASEAN countries are being enticed into exclusive, confrontational formats — various troikas and quartets,” he said.
Lavrov also advocated for a continent-wide security mechanism in Eurasia.
“Eurasia is home to numerous civilisations that have preserved their identities into the modern era. And yet, it is the only continent lacking a unifying structure,” he said. He called for the harmonisation of interests among major powers and civilisations across Eurasia.
He pointed out that while Africa has the African Union, and Latin America and the Caribbean are represented through CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States), no such pan-continental organisation currently exists in Eurasia.
Also read: Russia and Ukraine to hold their first peace talks in 3 years amid low expectations
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