ld) Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, US President Joe Bide and Indian Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Ministers Fumio Kishida at the Quad Summit in Tokyo on May 24, 2022 (AFP/STR)
The leaders of the United States, Japan, Australia and India warned in Tokyo on Tuesday against “changing the status quo by force”, concerned about the activity and the growing military influence of China in Asia-Pacific.
At the end of their summit in the Japanese capital, the four countries grouped together in the informal alliance called “Quad” seemed to draw a parallel between the territorial ambitions of Beijing and the Russian invasion of Ukraine which “shakes the principles fundamentals of the international order”.
No “change of the status quo by force” will “never be tolerated anywhere, particularly” in Asia-Pacific, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned at a press conference.
Chinese and Russian bombers flew together near Japan on Tuesday, and a Russian reconnaissance plane flew over the area north of the island of Hokkaido, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said after the summit. saw a provocation from Beijing and Moscow against the Quad.
“As the international community responds to Russia’s aggression on Ukraine, the fact that China has taken such action in collaboration with Russia…is concerning. This cannot be underestimated.” , Mr. Kishi said.
Beijing confirmed the flights, saying they were part of the “annual military cooperation plan” between China and Russia.
US President Joe Biden said on Monday that the United States would be ready to use its military means in the event of an invasion of Taiwan by China.
However, he clarified on Tuesday that the “strategic ambiguity” remained unchanged. This American doctrine consists in diplomatically recognizing only mainland China while committing to give Taiwan the military means to defend itself in the event of an invasion.
“I want to remind the American side that no force in the world, including the United States, can prevent the Chinese people from achieving complete national unification,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang said. Wenbin.
If Washington “persists on the wrong path, it will not only have irreparable consequences for the China-US relationship, but also an unbearable cost for the United States”, he added.
– Omnipresent China –
Members of the Quad regularly worry about military maneuvers and Chinese attempts to “nibble” around Pacific islands.
Data on the “Quad” alliance which brings together the United States, India, Japan and Australia (AFP / )
In their statement on Tuesday, Mr. Biden and Kishida, along with Australia’s new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and India’s Narendra Modi, specifically referred to the “militarization” of contested areas, the “dangerous use of coastguard vessels and maritime militias and to efforts to disrupt the offshore resource exploitation activities of other countries”, activities that China is accused of carrying out in the region.
They also unveiled a maritime surveillance program aimed at “promoting stability and prosperity in our seas and oceans”.
Their statements, however, avoided any explicit mention of China or Russia, while the Quad’s unity is complicated by disagreements with India, the only member not to have condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. even increasing its imports of Russian oil despite criticism.
But Mr. Biden had stressed earlier that this summit was one of “democracies against autocracies”.
The US strategy aims for an Asia-Pacific region “free, open, connected, secure and resilient. Russia’s attack on Ukraine only underscores the importance of these goals, the fundamental principles of the international order” , he added.
– Investments in Asia-Pacific –
Countries in the region are also concerned about Beijing’s efforts to forge alliances with smaller nations in the Pacific. After a security agreement concluded last month with the Solomon Islands, China may, according to some media, want to extend it to other countries in the region.
US President Joe Biden (2nd l), Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (2nd d), Indian Prime Ministers Narendra Modi (r) and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (l) at a Quad Summit in Tokyo on May 24 2022 (AFP / SAUL LOEB)
Beijing confirmed on Tuesday that its foreign minister would visit a series of Pacific countries including the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Kiribati, and have video exchanges with Micronesia and the Cook Islands.
The members of the Quad also announced on Tuesday that they wanted to invest at least 50 billion dollars (about 47 billion euros) in infrastructure projects in Asia-Pacific over the next five years.
“We are committed to working closely with our partners and the region to stimulate public and private investment,” the four leaders said in their joint statement.
Joe Biden left Tuesday at the end of the day for Washington, thus completing his Asian tour which had started with a stay in South Korea where there was the possibility that the unpredictable North Korea would fire a new missile or carry out a nuclear test.
This fear has not materialized so far, but Washington has said it is “prepared” for this eventuality, as talks have stalled since the failure of a summit in 2019 between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then US President Donald Trump.