Quad tells China to follow the rules
Beijing has no reason to fear the Quad, say the foreign ministers of Japan, Australia, India and the US, so long as China ‘abides by the rules’.
China has no reason to fear the Quad, say the top diplomats of Japan, Australia, India and the US, so long as Beijing “abides by” international rules.
Speaking on a panel with her Quad counterparts at a geopolitics summit held on the sidelines of the G20 in New Delhi on Friday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the Quad was a “lighthouse” that “enables choices” for countries in the Indo-Pacific.
Japan’s Foreign Minister, Yoshimasa Hayashi, said China should not feel threatened by the group.
“We don’t try to exclude anybody. This is open architecture. So one thing we would like to say is, just abide by the law of international ruling institutions. And as long as China abides by … the international institutions, standards and rules, then this is not a conflicting issue between China and the Quad,” Mr Hayashi told the Raisina Dialogue, New Delhi’s top geopolitics summit.
Beijing once dismissed the Quad, saying it would “dissipate like sea foam”, but in recent years has become much more concerned, casting it as a US-created tool to “contain China”.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will host fellow Quad leaders, US President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in Australia later this year.
A recent survey of influential Southeast Asians found the Quad is widely supported by elites in the region. Singapore-based research centre the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute found just over 50 per cent of the 1300 people surveyed thought the Quad was “positive and reassuring” for Southeast Asia. Only 12 per cent disagreed.
India’s Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, said the Quad was much more than just a grouping to oppose China. “We do stand for something. What I would not like to be defined as is standing against something, or someone, because that diminishes me. That makes it out as though some other people are the centre of the world,” Dr Jaishankar said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday said the Quad was a force for “good positive affirmative action” and was focused on “concrete, practical needs” for countries in the region.
Mr Biden’s top envoy said the Quad was allowing the four countries to “amplify” their influence in the international system.
“You have Quad countries that are also chairing, in this moment, the G7, the G20, APEC, and that too gives us an ability to amplify,” Mr Blinken said.
The four envoys were speaking after a Friday morning meeting. There was no direct mention of China in their joint statement, but Beijing was the clear target of criticism over destabilising behaviour in the region.
“We strongly oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo or increase tensions in the area,” the statement read. “We express serious concern at the militarisation of disputed features, the dangerous use of coastguard vessels and maritime militia, and efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation activities.”
The Quad meeting took place a day after Senator Wong met in New Delhi with new Chinese counterpart Qin Gang.
Senator Wong said the meeting was “another step towards stabilising our relationship” and Australia looked forward to “continued engagement”. “We can grow our relationship and safeguard our national interests if we navigate our differences wisely.”
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