‘We favour freedom’: Quad leaders offer China alternative at historic summit

Washington: Scott Morrison and the fellow “Quad” leaders have presented a united front against Chinese economic pressure and military aggression in the Indo-Pacific at a historic White House summit, with the Prime Minister declaring the four nations “believe in a world order that favours freedom”.

US President Joe Biden hosted Morrison, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Suga in Washington for the first in-person leaders meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue on Saturday (AEST).

President Joe Biden speaks during the Quad summit in the East Room of the White HouseCredit: AP

The four leaders unveiled a suite of initiatives to work together on delivering vaccines to needy countries in Asia, creating a reliable supply chain for critical minerals and partnering on low-emissions technologies to tackle climate change.

Although the leaders deliberately avoided mentioning China by name, the mission to counter the growing influence of the rising superpower dominated every aspect of the summit.

“We are liberal democracies and believe in a world order that favours freedom,” Morrison said at the beginning of the summit in the East Room of the White House.

“We believe in a free and open Indo-Pacific because we know that’s what delivers a strong, stable and prosperous region so our citizens, our people, can realise their hopes and dreams for their futures in a liberal, free society.”

Morrison said the nations had a common goal to create a region that can “always be free from coercion, where the sovereign rights of all nations are respected and where disputes are settled peacefully and in accordance with international law”.

This includes working together on low emissions technologies that will “take the world to a net zero economy, a new energy economy”, Morrison said.

The leaders announced they would form a green shipping network that aims to establish two to three low-emission or zero-emission shipping corridors by 2030. Leading ports including Sydney, Los Angeles, Mumbai and Yokohama will be invited to join the network.

They also announced a new partnership to cut costs across elements of the clean-hydrogen supply chain.

Morrison also proposed holding a clean energy summit in Australia early next year that would be attended by experts from the four Quad nations.

The two-hour Quad summit marked the end of a intense week of diplomacy in the US for Morrison, who held one-on-one meetings with the leaders of some of the world’s most powerful countries, as well as American congressional leaders and the heads of major multilateral institutions.

Biden described the nations “democratic partners who share a common world view and have a common vision for the future coming together to take on key challenges of our ages”.

“We know how to get things done and we are up to the challenge,” the US President said.

In a joint statement issued after the summit, the leaders said their co-operation “remains unflinching” and they stand “undaunted by coercion”.

The leaders said they recognise “that our shared futures will be written in the Indo-Pacific, and we will redouble our efforts to ensure that the Quad is a force for regional peace, stability, security, and prosperity”.

In a pre-recorded video speech beamed to the UN General Assembly before the summit, Morrison touted the Quad’s vaccine rollout plans and also said the new AUKUS partnership with the US and the UK was “designed to further the cause of peace, stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region for the benefit of all who live within that region”.

The Prime Minister also devoted much of his speech to defending Australia’s record on climate emissions reduction, saying “Australia has a proven track record of … setting, achieving and exceeding” its commitments.

As it has in the past, the Chinese government lashed out at the deepening of the Quad, which is rapidly emerging as an influential counterbalance to Chinese power in the region.

“A closed, exclusive clique targeting other countries runs counter to the trend of the times and the aspirations of regional countries,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Leijian said at a briefing in Beijing as the summit was taking place.

“It will find no support and is doomed to fail.”

Speaking to reporters after the summit, Morrison said: “The Quad is a partner whether it be for China or any other country that is in the Indo Pacific region.

“We’re there to make the region stronger, more prosperous, more stable.”

The leaders committed to reboot the plan to donate a billion COVID-19 vaccines across Asia by the end of next year.

The plan was initially announced in March but stalled when India, which will serve as the major manufacturing hub for the donated vaccines, was hit by an outbreak of the Delta outbreak and had to cease exports.

India is expected to begin exporting vaccines to other countries again in the October quarter.

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