China seeks support from Southeast Asia after US, Britain and Australia unveil new security pact

China has reached out to Southeast Asian countries after the United States, Britain and Australia announced a new security pact designed to counter Chinese influence in the region . Liu Jinsong, the director general of the foreign ministry's department of Asian affairs held separate meetings with ambassadors from the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia in Beijing in recent days to discuss the new Aukus alliance, the ministry said on Friday. During the meetings, Liu denounced Aukus as the work of "racially and geopolitically motivated cliques". He told the diplomats: "Some countries have defied world trends and the international consensus…