The new US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held his first virtual meeting since the election of President Joe Biden with colleagues from Japan, India and Australia, thus showing his support for the so-called Quad group, which is an increasingly assertive China in the Indo-Pacific to counteract.
The talks that took place in Washington on Thursday included discussions about « the priority of strengthening democratic resilience in the broader region, » Blinken spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. The partners also pledged to « strengthen cooperation in promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific region, including support for freedom of navigation and territorial integrity ».
The meeting signals that the Quad, which was revived in 2017 as a buffer against Beijing remains a strong focus for the four nations that have individually had conflicts with China in recent years. They pledged to hold a ministerial quad meeting at least once a year, as well as regular senior and work level talks.
The quad group, which was elevated under the Trump administration, was admonished by China as a « clique » to that could trigger a new cold war. While some observers had expected to ease tensions between the US and China under Biden, the first few weeks of his administration did not show any signs of a weakening of security policy in Asia.
After the meeting, the foreign ministers of all four nations made statements in which they praised the progress of their discussions. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said they welcomed the fact « that this meeting was held in the early days of the Biden government. »
Motegi also expressed « serious concern » about Chinese Coast Guard law, and the four ministers pledged to oppose « unilateral and vigorous attempts to change the status quo » in the East and South China Seas, saying it would.
Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said the meeting had « found that the Indo-Pacific concept is growing in international support found, also in Europe « .
In her statement, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said that the quad » is an important pillar of Australia’s international agenda, bringing together four like-minded democracies that are committed to upholding international rules and regulations Set commitments. «
In addition to security, the partners dealt with cooperation at de r Combating the pandemic and combating climate change. Ministers also discussed fighting disinformation, counterterrorism, maritime security and the urgent need to restore the democratically elected government in Myanmar, according to Blinken’s statement.
(Except for the headline, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and published from a syndicated feed.)
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