U.S., Japan not qualified to define int'l order: FM spokesperson

Photo taken on April 2, 2021 shows the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The United States and Japan have no right or qualification to represent the international community, to define international order or to impose their standards on others, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Monday.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a press briefing when asked to comment on the China-related issues in a joint statement recently released by U.S. and Japanese leaders.

The only system in the world is the international system with the UN as the core, and the only set of rules is the basic norms governing international relations based on the UN Charter, said Wang. He added that while talking about "free and open," the U.S. and Japan are actually ganging up to form cliques and fanning bloc confrontation, which is the real threat to regional peace and stability, as well as damage to international rules and order.

On human rights issues, Japan and the United States owe debts to Chinese and world people, said Wang, citing the disaster inflicted on Chinese and Asian people by Japan's invasion war in the 1930s, and the incessant wars launched by the United States on foreign lands, which have killed more than 800,000 people since 2001, including 300,000 civilians.

Instead of using human rights issues as a pretext for interfering in China's internal affairs, Japan and the United States should reflect on and correct their own invasion history and their wrong deeds of violating the human rights of the people of other countries.

He said that for the Japanese side, the pressing task now is to face up to solemn concerns of the surrounding countries and the international community, immediately stop the implementation of the decision to dump nuclear wastewater into the sea.

Wang said politicization and stigmatization of COVID-19 by the United States has not only taken a heavy toll on U.S. people but also created obstacles for international cooperation in fighting COVID-19.

The United States and Japan must stop political maneuvers on epidemic fighting, cherish life, respect science and make more concrete efforts to promote international cooperation in epidemic fighting, rather than causing trouble, Wang said.