Meddling joint statement has crossed redline

Beijing has reasons to feel offended by a joint statement issued by Ottawa and Seoul recently.

The joint statement the two countries released at the end of the Canada-Republic of Korea Foreign and Defense (2+2) Ministerial Meeting on Friday last week has gone far beyond the scope of bilateral ties.

Borrowing the "Indo-Pacific" concept, a veneer the United States uses to cover its China-containment strategy, the document hypes up the "threat" the two countries face in the region, expressing their concern about the South China Sea issue, to which both are external parties.