Quad foreign ministers decry dangerous South China Sea actions

TOKYO: Foreign ministers from Australia, India, Japan and the United States said on Monday (Jul 29) that they were seriously concerned about intimidating and dangerous manoeuvres in the South China Sea and pledged to bolster maritime security in the region.
The joint statement came after talks between the so-called “Quad” countries in Tokyo, attended by Australia’s Penny Wong, India’s Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Japan’s Yoko Kamikawa and Antony Blinken from the US.
In security talks between the US and Japan on Sunday, the two allies labelled China the “greatest strategic challenge” facing the region.
“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,” the ministers said in the statement, which did not directly mention China.
They also expressed serious concern about the militarisation of disputed features and coercive and intimidating manoeuvres in the South China Sea, including the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels.
Chinese vessels have repeatedly clashed with Philippine ships seeking to resupply its troops on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in recent months, although the two countries in July reached a provisional agreement that aims to ease tensions.
The Quad group said they were working on a series of initiatives to maintain “the free and open maritime order” including helping partners improve domain awareness via satellite data, training and capacity building. They also announced a plan to set up a new maritime legal dialogue.
“We are charting a course for a more secure and open Indo-Pacific and Indian Ocean region by bolstering maritime security,” Blinken said in remarks to reporters after the meeting.
“In practical terms what does this mean? It means strengthening the capacity of partners across the region to know what’s happening in their own waters,” he added.
He said the US would continue to work with its partners to ensure freedom of navigation and the unimpeded flow of lawful maritime commerce.
The US announced plans on Sunday for a major revamp of its military command in Japan. It was among several measures announced by the allies to address what they said was an “evolving security environment”, noting various threats from China including its muscular maritime activities.
“Uncertainty surrounding the international order as well as the international situation has been increasing with Russia continuing its aggression in Ukraine, attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force in the East China Sea and South China Sea, and the launch of ballistic missiles by North Korea,” Japan’s Kamikawa said after the talks.
Grant Newsham, senior research fellow at Japanese think tank Japan Forum for Strategic Studies, said the US-Japan deal is a “good first step” and a “good reaffirmation” of increasing cooperation between both nations.
The relationship has turned into a practical one with concrete outcomes that have been in the works for about five years, added the retired US Marine.
The significance of the deal, he noted, was how the Americans agreed to turn their headquarters for US forces in Japan into “operational headquarters”.
“Currently, it’s just an administrative outfit that apologises to the Japanese when the Americans do something wrong,” Newsham told CNA’s Asia First programme.
“But if you turn it into a real warfighting headquarters, and have that go along with what the Japanese have just started to do – which is get their own joint operation headquarters – it offers some real possibilities in the future for the Americans and the Japanese to actually have a useful defence relationship, in the sense that it can do real-world short-notice operations.”
In the Quad’s joint statement, Tokyo also signed off on what the US calls “extended deterrence”, which refers to America’s commitment to use its nuclear forces to deter attacks on allies.
This was an issue once off-limits in Japan, which is the only nation to have suffered atomic bombing. It has previously called on all nuclear weapon states to take measures toward nuclear disarmament.
Newsham said Japan has always been glad to have the US available to protect them, but he expressed uncertainty about whether the Americans’ added reassurances during the Quad meeting would be enough.
“The Japanese just might have a feeling that’s a promise the Americans will do something. There’s no guarantee they’ll do anything,” he added.
In terms of how Beijing could respond, Newsham said the Chinese can talk but it would not amount to much diplomatically.
“What you’re seeing is the free nations, the two principal ones in the region, really taking some steps to defend themselves and others. And the Chinese don’t like it – they never do.
“Generally you know that you’re doing something right, depending on how much Beijing complains about it,” he added.
The Quad ministers also pledged to advance cooperation in cybersecurity to protect supply chains and critical infrastructure, including undersea cables.
After leaving Tokyo, Blinken and Austin will hold security talks with another Asian ally, the Philippines, as the Biden administration seeks to counter an increasingly bold China.