The leaders of Japan, India, Australia and the United States held an initial summit in the White House. At the two-hour meeting on Friday, the so-called "Quad" countries emphasized their common stance for the need for a free Indo-Pacific region. “We stand here together in the Indo-Pacific region, a region which we wish to be always free of coercion, in which the sovereign rights of all nations are respected and in which disputes are settled peacefully and in accordance with international law Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. The region from the Indian to the Pacific Ocean forms the basis for "common security and common prosperity," said a joint statement on Friday evening after the meeting.It also emphasized that the law of the sea must be observed in the East and South China Seas.
The United States and other countries are concerned about the People's Republic of China's trade practices and China's expansionist drive in the Indo-Pacific. China also claims practically the entire South China Sea for itself. For years, the People's Republic has therefore been in dispute with countries in the region such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei - and also with Taiwan. Large oil and gas reserves are believed to be in the area.
Japanese President Yoshihide Suga told reporters after the meeting that the countries had agreed to work together on vaccines, clean energy and space and to hold a summit every year. The group has also announced that it will support each other in the fight against cybercrime and the expansion of 5G communication technology. There should also be more cooperation in space, for example through the joint use of satellite data for monitoring climate change or for disaster control.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told other leaders that India would approve the export of eight million coronavirus vaccines by the end of October. India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, initially banned the export of vaccines in April in the face of a massive coronavirus outbreak in its own country. Because of this, the plan to deliver a billion vaccinations across Asia by the end of 2022 had stalled.
The meeting came just over a week after the announcement of a security pact between the United States, Britain and Australia to equip Australia with nuclear-powered submarines.
The spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Zhao Lijian, criticized the summit meeting and described the quad states as a "closed, exclusive clique directed against other countries".
The countries would find no support and are doomed to fail, the spokesman said.