US, Japan, Australia, India air ‘serious concern’ on South China Sea row

/ 02:15 PM July 29, 2024

(L to R) India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Japan's Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken take part in a press conference after the Quad Ministerial Meeting at the Iikura Guest House in Tokyo on July 29, 2024. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)

(Left to right) India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken take part in a press conference after the Quad Ministerial Meeting at the Iikura Guest House in Tokyo on July 29, 2024. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)

The foreign ministers of the United States, Japan, Australia and India on Monday expressed “serious concern” over the situation in the South China Sea in a veiled rebuke to Beijing.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterparts in the so-called Quad grouping issued a joint statement calling for a “free and open” Pacific after talks in Tokyo.

Article continues after this advertisement

The statement did not name China directly but referenced a series of recent confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the disputed South China Sea.

FEATURED STORIES

“We are seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas and reiterate our strong opposition to any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion,” the communique said.

“We continue to express our serious concern about the militarization of disputed features, and coercive and intimidating maneuvers in the South China Sea,” it added.

Article continues after this advertisement

The group also condemned North Korea’s “destabilizing” missile launches.

Article continues after this advertisement

Blinken is on a tour of Asia-Pacific countries aimed at reinforcing regional cooperation in the face of Beijing’s growing assertiveness and its deepening ties with Russia.

Article continues after this advertisement

The Quad talks in Tokyo, the first since September, included Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, India’s S. Jaishankar and Australia’s top diplomat Penny Wong.

Their statement was noticeably more muted than a communique issued after talks on Sunday between Blinken, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and their Japanese counterparts.

Article continues after this advertisement

Without India and Australia present, the two countries issued scathing verbal attacks that, unlike the Quad statement, named and criticized not only China but also Russia.

Washington and Tokyo said China’s “foreign policy seeks to reshape the international order for its own benefit at the expense of others.”

It also condemned Russia’s “growing and provocative strategic military cooperation” with China, as well as Moscow’s procurement of ballistic missiles and other materiel from North Korea “for use against Ukraine.”

Criticism of Moscow by the Quad is awkward for India, which relies heavily on Russian arms supplies and whose Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Vladimir Putin this month.

– Maritime clashes –

The Philippines — Blinken and Austin’s next stop — is locked in a long-standing territorial row with Beijing over parts of the South China Sea.

Violent clashes in the area have sparked concern that Manila’s ally Washington could be drawn into a conflict as Beijing steps up efforts to push its claims to almost the entire waterway, through which trillions of dollars’ worth of trade passes annually.

“We are charting a course for a more secure and open Indo-Pacific and Indian Ocean region by bolstering maritime security and domain awareness,” Blinken told reporters after the talks on Monday.

Kamikawa said the Quad was determined to “cooperate for the coexistence and co-prosperity of the international community.”

Bec Strating, professor of international relations at La Trobe University, warned ahead of the talks that the Quad’s varied agendas meant their message did not always ring clear.

On one hand, the idea that the four countries are willing to work together on defense and foreign policy issues presents them “as a ‘partner-of-choice’ in the region, compared with China,” she told AFP.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

But “global issues such as the war in Ukraine have demonstrated that the Quad countries are not necessarily as ‘like-minded’ as the rhetoric suggests,” Strating said.

TAGS: India, Japan, US

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

This is an information message

We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more here.