QUAD joint statement alludes to China’s regional expansion
The QUAD Foreign Ministers – US, India, Japan & Australia – on Friday vowed to ramp up cooperation to keep the Indo-Pacific region free from bullying, opposed “coercive” economic policies, denounced the use of terrorist proxies for cross-border terrorism, and asserted that Afghan territory should not be used to threaten or attack any country. Meanwhile reacting to the QUAD resolution, China said the QUAD is a “tool” to contain China’s rise and this grouping of four nations is a grouping and a “deliberate move” to stoke confrontation and it is doomed to fail.
The Ukraine crisis was also discussed at the fourth meeting of the QUAD foreign ministers in Melbourne with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying that Russia would face “massive consequences” if it renewed aggression towards the Eastern European nation and that Washington is following an approach of diplomacy and dialogue to resolve the issue. At a joint media briefing with his counterparts from the US, Australia, and Japan, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said an agenda seeking to further the QUAD’s shared vision of a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific is being pursued to ensure peace, stability, and economic prosperity in the region.
“As leading democracies, we pursue our shared vision of upholding a rules-based international order free from coercion, one based on respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, the rule of law, transparency, freedom of navigation in the international seas, and peaceful resolution of disputes,” he said in his remarks at the meeting. He said there is ample scope to work together on global issues such as terrorism, cyber security, maritime security, and disinformation and that India continues to pursue an “agile” and multidimensional strategy towards the Indo-Pacific.
“In the meeting, we reaffirm the QUAD’s commitment to supporting Indo Pacific countries’ efforts to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific — a region which is inclusive and resilient, and in which states strive to protect the interests of their people, free from coercion,” a joint statement said with a veiled reference to China’s bullying in region. However, the QUAD did not mention or directly named China’s aggressive measures to Indian terrains.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said that the next QUAD Leaders’ Summit will take place in Japan in the first half of 2022. The statement said that the QUAD partners champion a free, open, and inclusive rules-based order, rooted in international law, that protects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of regional countries. “We oppose coercive economic policies and practices that run counter to this system and will work collectively to foster global economic resilience against such actions,” it said.
Terming the QUAD alliance between the US, India, Australia, and Japan as a “tool” to contain China’s rise, Beijing said on Friday that the grouping is a “deliberate move” to stoke confrontation and it is doomed to fail. China, which has territorial disputes with many countries in the strategic Indo-Pacific region, has been opposing the QUAD alliance since its formation.
“China believes that the QUAD mechanism is only a tool to contain China,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing here while responding to a question that QUAD foreign ministers opened their talks in Melbourne, saying that the countries need to stand up those who seek to coerce them raising the long-term issue of China’s rising power.
“This is a deliberate move to stoke confrontation and undermines international solidarity and cooperation,” he said. “I want to stress that the Cold War is long gone and any attempt to create an alliance as aimed at containing China will not be popular and such moves are doomed to fail,” he added.
[with PTI and AP inputs]
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