Tokyo: The foreign ministers of Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) on Monday took aim at China in their joint statement, defending the rights of The Philippines in the South China Sea dispute, as well as opposing any “unilateral actions” to change the status quo by “force or coercion”.
“We are seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas and reiterate our strong opposition to any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion. We continue to express our serious concern about the militarisation of disputed features, and coercive and intimidating manoeuvres in the South China Sea,” said the joint statement.
It outlined the leaders’ serious concern about the “dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels, the increasing use of various kinds of dangerous manoeuvres, and efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation activities”.
They said maritime disputes must be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law, as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
While the statement did not directly name Beijing, the actions detailed in the statement indicated actions in the South China Sea in recent months, which has seen a series of confrontations between The Philippines and China, which seriously injured one Filipino sailor in June.
The Russia-Ukraine war, the situation in Myanmar, the Israel-Hamas conflict and also China’s aggressive actions in the East China Sea figured in the discussions held between S. Jaishankar, Yoko Kamikawa, Antony Blinken and Penny Wong in Tokyo.
The strong statement on respecting the UNCLOS and the July 2016 arbitral award in favour of the Philippines with India’s approval comes as New Delhi and Manila have in recent years seen a convergence of interests in the Indo-Pacific and border issues with China.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Jaishankar said, “The overall messaging is that our four countries (India, Japan, Australia and the US)… all democratic polities, pluralistic societies and market economies… are working together for a free and open Indo-Pacific, for a rules-based order and for global good. That by itself is a powerful stabilising factor in an uncertain and volatile world.”
