MOSCOW, July 28. /TASS/. The West's policy of militarizing the Asia-Pacific Region (APR) is one of the main challenges to regional security, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said in an interview with the Russian Arctic and Far East Development news portal.

"One of the serious challenges to the security and development of the Asia-Pacific is the Western policy of militarizing the region and entrenching NATO’s military and political potential within it," Rudenko said.

"The West's efforts are aimed at replacing the positive cooperation mechanisms that have existed here for decades with a network of confrontational bloc structures," he added.

According to Rudenko, this militaristic approach "directly contradicts the traditional model of pragmatic, constructive engagement that helped Asia become a global leader in economic growth rates."