"International order" on the menu of the Quad: the shadow of China hovered over the Tokyo meeting

Quad meeting in Tokyo, May 24, 2022: Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during the final press conference.

REUTERS - POOL

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The United States, India, Japan and Australia oppose any "change of the status quo by force", especially in Asia-Pacific, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said after his meeting. a meeting in Tokyo of the Quad alliance which brings together these four countries.

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"While Russia's invasion of Ukraine undermines the fundamental principles of the international order", the leaders of the United States, India, Australia "and I agree that unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force will never be tolerated anywhere, especially in the Indo-Pacific region,” Japanese Prime Minister Kishida said.

Quad members, who are worried about China following in Russia's footsteps in Taiwan, and China's military maneuvers in the region, also announced a plan to spend at least $50 billion ( approximately 47 billion euros) to infrastructure projects and investments in Asia-Pacific over the next five years.

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On Monday, US President Joe Biden said his country

would defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion

of the autonomous island by Beijing forces.

However, he clarified on Tuesday that Washington's "strategic ambiguity", consisting in diplomatically recognizing only mainland China while pledging to give the autonomous island the military means to defend itself in the event of an invasion, remained unchanged. .

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In their statement on Tuesday, the four heads of state specifically referred to the "militarization" of contested areas, "the dangerous use of coast guard vessels and maritime militias and efforts to disrupt the activities of exploitation of offshore resources of other countries”, as many activities that China is accused of carrying out in the region.

But the final statement avoids explicitly condemning China or Russia.

India is the only Quad member that has refused to publicly criticize Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

   Following their talks in Tokyo, the Quad countries also agreed to launch a new maritime surveillance initiative to bolster monitoring of Chinese activities in the region.

   The moves, along with the plan to spend at least $50 billion on infrastructure projects and investment, follow concerns over China's recent efforts to build ties with Pacific nations, including the Solomon Islands which entered into a security pact with Beijing last month.

   "We are committed to working closely with our partners and the region to stimulate public and private investment," the US, Indian, Japanese and Australian leaders said in their joint statement.

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