“NATO’s attempt to make eastward inroads into the Asia-Pacific is not consistent with its mandate as a regional defensive organization and will only bring bloc confrontation into Asia and sabotage regional peace and stability,” said Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China spokeswoman Mao Ning, in response to a question about Russian President Putin’s comments on the expansion of NATO’s activities. “The China-Russia relationship rises above the model of military and political alliance in the Cold War era and is fundamentally different from the exclusive groupings and bloc confrontation practiced by NATO,” she said.