China is stepping up its criticism as President Biden hosts the leaders of Japan and South Korea for a summit at Camp David on Friday.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin warned against “bloc confrontation” in the Asia-Pacific region as the U.S. and its allies gather at the presidential retreat in Maryland.
“The international community has its own judgment as to who is creating contradictions and increasing tensions,” Wang said at a daily briefing, according to The Associated Press.
“Attempts to form various exclusive groups and cliques and to bring bloc confrontation into the Asia-Pacific region are unpopular and will definitely spark vigilance and opposition in the countries of the region,” Wang added.
The Camp David meeting between the U.S. and its two allies is an attempt to bring Japan and South Korea closer together in economic ties and security.
The relationship between Japan and South Korea hasn’t always been warm due to Japan’s past occupation of the Korean Peninsula, but they have come closer together amid more recent concerns about China and North Korea.
China, known for its military posturing against its rivals in recent years, made some moves with its forces in an apparent response to the Camp David meeting.
Japan’s Defense Ministry said it spotted 11 ships from China and its ally Russia crossing between the southern Japanese islands of Okinawa and Miyako on Thursday. On Friday, the ministry also said it scrambled fighter jets after spotting two Russian IL-38 reconnaissance aircraft flying back and forth over the Tsushima Strait in southwestern Japan.
The Associated Press contributed.