On March 12, 2021, leaders of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) countries held a virtual meeting to discuss vaccines, science and technology cooperation, and regional security.
With the growing threat of the Chinese Communist Party in the Indo-Pacific region, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) between the United States, Japan, India, and Australia has become even more important. Not only do they work closely together on economic, military, and supply chain issues, but the U.S. and Japan have also actively invited more countries to participate in this alliance or conduct multilateral joint military exercises, creating a substantial deterrent to the CCP.
In an interview with Japanese media outlet Kyodo News on Tuesday (May 18), Chinese Ambassador to Japan Kong Hyun-you was so anxious that he criticized this as an “encirclement network against China” and asked Japan to “get rid of the diplomacy of following the U.S.”. “The Chinese ambassador has in fact been making moves recently.
On May 10, Chinese Ambassador Li Jieming warned Bangladesh not to join QUAD in order to avoid “major damage” to relations between the two countries. However, this move met with a strong backlash from Bangladesh.
On May 11, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister A. K. Abdul Momen expressed his strong displeasure with the Chinese remarks. Momen said, “We are a sovereign and independent country that decides its own foreign policy. Any country can defend its position. However, we will make our decisions with the interests of our people and our country in mind.”
Mormon said the Chinese Communist Party’s move was an intervention in Bangladesh, “We did not expect it.”
U.S. and Japan actively increase QUAD cooperation partners
Pictured is the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier (CVN-68) with the Indian, Japanese, and Australian navies, conducting exercise Malabar 2020 in the Indian Ocean on Nov. 20, 2020.
In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party has destroyed the “one country, two systems” in Hong Kong, conducted increasingly frequent military operations in the South China Sea, Taiwan Strait, and around the Diaoyu Islands, and attempted to challenge the rules-based international order by passing the Marine Police Act, which allows the Marine Police Bureau to use weapons.
In the face of the Chinese Communist threat, the Quadripartite Security Dialogue between the U.S., Japan, India and Australia is seen as a unified alliance in the Asia-Pacific region to resist Chinese Communist ambitions. The U.S., Japan and other countries also want to expand the organization’s partner countries and make it more formalized.
After the Biden administration took office, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in late January that the incoming administration would continue the QUAD mechanism. Kurt Campbell, the White House coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs, also said in mid-January that the U.S. intends to expand QUAD and focus on military deterrence. Subsequently, the British government expressed interest in joining.
On February 18, 2021, the four countries held online foreign ministers’ video talks, and on March 12, the Quadripartite Security Dialogue held its first online summit meeting and established working groups on epidemics, advanced technologies, and climate change.
In early April, the U.S., Japan, India, Australia and France joined forces in a maritime military exercise, setting a precedent for the QUAD alliance to participate in a French-hosted military exercise, in the hope of strengthening cooperation against the Chinese Communist Party in the Indo-Pacific region.
This Friday (21), President Joe Biden will meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House, the second face-to-face summit since Biden met with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in April.
Foreign media believe that the U.S. prioritizes its two allies in the Asia-Pacific region, indicating the importance the U.S. attaches to the Indo-Pacific strategy, and that Biden will most likely invite South Korea to join QUAD or to cooperate on a substantive level.
Earlier, during Kan’s return trip to the United States, he was expected to visit India and the Philippines to increase mutual military cooperation. Both India and the Philippines have territorial sovereignty conflicts with the Chinese Communist Party, and the outside world was quite optimistic about the outcome of the talks, but unfortunately the trip was cancelled due to the outbreak of an epidemic in India.
Experts: Japan’s active role in QUAD
The picture shows Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
Last month, the Chinese Asia-Pacific Elite Exchange Association Secretary General Wang Zhisheng accepted the “Epoch Times” interview, Japan has recently been active in tandem with the Asia-Pacific countries, in the QAUD played a fairly active role.
“Japan’s action is to hold back the Chinese Communist Party.” Wang Zhisheng further analyzed that caused Japan to have such a shift, which is related to the passage of the Chinese Communist Party’s “Maritime Police Law”, which is quite a huge threat to Asia-Pacific countries, Japan is the first to bear the brunt.
Wang Zhisheng believes that the future cooperation between countries in the Indo-Pacific region will no longer be limited to military and security strategies, but is expected to include economic, technological development, medical production and other deeper cooperation.
He said that if Japan and the United States want to readjust their Asia-Pacific strategy, Taiwan is “a piece of the puzzle that must be filled in”, otherwise Taiwan will become an obvious gap in the first island chain.
Cross-strait policy researcher Zhang Yushao said that such a situation makes Taiwan in the “four-party security dialogue”, become the object must be actively included.
According to Zhang Yushao, Taiwan may be invited to participate in the Quadripartite Security Dialogue in specific areas first. For example, the issue of the Chinese Communist Party’s maritime police, semiconductor issues, etc.
“There will be a gradual move from issue-based participation to regular participation.” Zhang Yushao said.
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