China's foreign minister Wang Yi warned on Monday during a policy speech in the Indonesian capital that countries should avoid being used as "chess pieces" by major powers in a region at risk of being reshaped by geopolitical factors.
Speaking at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) secretariat in Jakarta, Wang, who was speaking through a translator, said many countries in the region were under pressure to take sides.
"We should insulate this region from geopolitical calculations ... from being used as chess pieces from major power rivalry and from coercion," he said, adding: "The future of our region should be in our own hands."