Shortly before the summit of the G-7 states, the democracies in the Indo-Pacific are increasing the pressure on Beijing: America and Australia in particular are looking for new ways to counter China's advance and are reviving old initiatives.

These include the Quadruple Alliance, the alternative to Beijing's New Silk Road and one of the strengths of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

"The Indo-Pacific region is the epicenter of new strategic competition," said Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday at the USAsia Center in Perth.

"The risk of miscalculation and a conflict is always there and grows."

Christoph Hein

Business correspondent for South Asia / Pacific based in Singapore.

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    Morrison avoided mentioning China. He warned against "rapid military modernization, tensions over territorial claims, increased economic coercion, undermining of international law, including the law of the sea, to increased disinformation, foreign interference and cyber threats" - a list of the allegations against Beijing. At the same time, following talks with their Australian counterparts, Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi vowed "to work with partners to address economic challenges and support a free, open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific". Hours earlier in Washington, a whole bunch of projects had been presented to keep Beijing in check and strengthen its own interests.

    The role of the WTO must be strengthened

    In a 250-page report, Biden's administration concludes that "the United States cannot address its supply chain vulnerabilities alone". That is why Washington is looking for the support of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, which also includes Australia, India and Japan. This year there will be a first summit of the four heads of state and government of the Quad in Washington. "Building secure and resilient supply chains for critical technologies is facing increasing challenges," warned Morrison. “Another priority is developing safe and diverse supply chains for minerals, which are essential for clean energy technology and military applications.” He pointed out, without naming China,that currently "85 percent of refined rare earths come from a single country".

    With a view to the countries in Beijing's growing zone of influence, American President Joe Biden now wants to breathe life into the idea of ​​a counterattack on the New Silk Road presented two years ago by his predecessor Donald Trump: The Blue Dot Network is named after the saying of the American astrophysicist Carl Edward Sagan; in 1990 he had referred to the earth as a "pale blue dot" on a photo taken by the Voyager spacecraft. The initiative aims to highlight “market-driven, transparent and financially sustainable” infrastructure projects that investors can get involved with.

    For their part, the Europeans have adopted an “Asia Connectivity Strategy”, which has also been supporting Japan since September 2019. It is about "sustainable, rule-based connections from the Indo-Pacific to the Western Balkans and Africa," said Japan's then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe when he joined. “We can use the financing of the private sector and mobilize capital,” Morrison now outlined the role of the industrialized countries. He warned of the “debt diplomacy” that Beijing is accused of with regard to Sri Lanka, Laos and Cambodia.

    Morrison also took up the appeal of the Pacific Rim countries (APEC) from the weekend and called for a renewal of the WTO with a view to China: “In the G7, we will work together with others to strengthen the role of the WTO and to modernize its regulations. This can be one of the most powerful instruments the international community has to counteract economic coercion. ”Beijing has passed a whole host of punitive tariffs and trade restrictions on Australia's wine, coal and seafood because Canberra is too critical. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had said a few weeks ago that Washington would not allow Australia to face pressure from China alone.

    Morrison summed up the Democrats' approach on Wednesday: “We need the active collaboration of like-minded, liberal democracies like we have not seen in 30 years. A world order that prefers autocracy and authoritarianism to freedom. "