The heads of state of the United States, Japan, India and Australia announced on Friday that they would strive for an open Indo-Pacific region that cannot be “intimidated by coercion”.
US President Joe Biden is hosting the Summit of the Four Quad Heads of State, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Sarahbeth Maney / www.imago-images.de
(tla., dpa, Reuters)
The USA, India, Japan and Australia want to work more closely together in the future and expand their influence in the Indo-Pacific region. The region from the Indian to the Pacific Ocean forms the basis for “common security and common prosperity,” said a statement by the heads of state of the four countries on Friday. It also emphasized that the law of the sea must be observed in the East and South China Seas.
Both the meeting itself and the declaration can be interpreted as a signal to China, although the People’s Republic is not addressed directly in the document. In their statement, the heads of state and government repeatedly stressed the insistence on rules-based behavior in a region where China is trying to flex its muscles.
«We stand for the rule of law, the freedom of navigation and overflight, the peaceful Settlement of disputes, democratic values and the territorial integrity of states, “said US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the talks.
The heads of state and government of the Quad Group also spoke out in favor of supporting small island states, especially in the Pacific, to strengthen their economic and ecological resilience. In addition, they urged North Korea to hold diplomatic talks about its nuclear weapons and missile program, which Pyongyang has so far refused.
The USA and other states are concerned about the trade practices of the People’s Republic and the Chinese urge to expand 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 natural gas deposits are suspected in the area.
The quad too The four alliance mentioned above also wants to cooperate more closely in the future in coping with the corona pandemic, in the area of cybersecurity and in the fight against climate change. The production of corona vaccines should be increased and preparation for future pandemics should be improved – a joint exercise on this should be possible in 2022. There should also be more cooperation in space, for example through the shared use of satellite data for monitoring climate change or for disaster control.
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