Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi discussed new security architecture as a result of perceived NATO encroachment.
The goal of the joint drills between the United States, Japan, Australia and the Philippines is to expand NATO in other regions of the world, Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said on Wednesday.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi says he welcomes the increased involvement of NATO member states in the Indo-Pacific region, where China has become increasingly assertive militarily.
NATO s decision to specifically name China as a challenge for the first time in policy guidelines is the latest indication democracies and like-minded nations are coalescing in opposition to Beijing s growing military and economic assertiveness.