Quad leaders take aim at ambitions of China in region
Four-nation grouping vows to pursue policies to create an Indo-Pacific free from ‘intimidation’
The leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the United States have agreed to pursue policies to create a region free from “intimidation and coercion”, making a renewed commitment to preserving a rules-based order in the face of China’s military and economic ambitions.
Meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima, they also outlined some principles of the partnership, known as Quad, when dealing with challenges in the Indo-Pacific region. They included managing competition “responsibly” and working “transparently” with other regional partners.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said: “The security environment has become even more severe”, and that an “international order based on the rule of law is under threat” as he sat together with other leaders.
Under such circumstances, he said it was especially important to encourage the international community to have more “cooperation”, not “division and confrontation”.
US President Joe Biden said one of the grouping’s missions was to demonstrate “the capacity of democracies to deliver”.
“Our vision is for a region that is peaceful and prosperous, stable and secure, and respectful of sovereignty – free from intimidation and coercion, and where disputes are settled in accordance with international law,” they said in a joint statement.
China has criticised the grouping as an Asian version of Nato, although it is not a security alliance, and the areas of cooperation now include infrastructure and critical technologies, climate change and outer space.
With China’s increased use of economic means to push its strategic interests in mind, the Quad statement, without naming the country, said: “We seek a region in which all countries and peoples can exercise free choice on how they cooperate and trade based on partnership, equality and mutual respect.”
The leaders welcomed the launch of infrastructure initiatives, such as improving undersea cables together to achieve better internet connectivity across the region, according to the US government.
The four countries, which organised the first summit only two years ago, are on the same page in many respects, but India’s stance on Russia’s war against Ukraine is not in sync with the others.
The third in-person Quad summit was held on the sidelines of G7 discussions hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in the Japanese city to secure more support for his country.
Our vision is for a region that is peaceful and prosperous, stable and secure
QUAD LEADERS IN A JOINT STATEMENT
Zelensky spent much of the day meeting the world leaders and making his case for more aid after 15 months of battling against Russia’s invasion.
“Japan. G7. Important meetings with partners and friends of Ukraine. Security and enhanced cooperation for our victory. Peace will become closer today,” Zelensky tweeted.
Zelensky arrived in Japan aboard a French government plane from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he had travelled to join the Arab League meeting on Friday. He has engaged in a flurry of diplomatic visits in recent days, with visits to Rome, Berlin, Paris and London.
The Ukrainian leader was expected to sit down with Biden yesterday, the third and final day of the G7 summit. He is also expected to give a speech from the symbolic site of the first atomic bomb attack.