BEIJING, April 20 (Reuters) - Military cooperation between countries should not undermine mutual understanding and trust among regional countries, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday, when asked about the annual joint military exercises hosted by the Philippines and the United States that will also involve Japanese forces.
"What the Asia-Pacific region most needs is peace and tranquility, and what it least needs is the introduction of external forces to create division and confrontation," Guo Jiakun, a ministry spokesperson, said at a regular press briefing in Beijing.
"We would like to remind the relevant countries that persisting in tying themselves together on security will only lead to setting themselves on fire and backfiring," Guo said.
(Reporting by Liz Lee; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
