Phnom Penh

Hoping China does not "manufacture" a crisis, US State Secretary Antony Blinken said that the US continues to hail peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and opposes any unilateral efforts to change the status quo, especially by force.

Blinken's remarks came amid live-fire military exercises being conducted by China in areas around Taiwan as Beijing is irked by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

Blinken further emphasized that nothing has changed about US’ position, and he hopes very much that Beijing will not manufacture a crisis or seek a pretext to increase its aggressive military activity.

His comments came ahead of the ASEAN-US Ministerial Meeting on Thursday.

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He further added, US and countries around the world, believe that escalation serves no one and could have unintended consequences that serve no one's interests, including ASEAN members and including China.