The foreign ministers of the Quad, the informal security forum made up of India, the US, Japan and Australia, are expected to hold a much-anticipated meeting in Tokyo on October 6 with the aim of strengthening strategic cooperation and moving forward. in the goal of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. The meeting is expected to be followed by consultations at the senior official level in November.
The meeting will discuss collaboration among the Quad countries in the fight against terrorism, cyber and maritime security, development finance, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, according to South Block officials. The ministers are also expected to discuss practical collaborations in the development of advanced technologies, including 5G and 5G-plus telecommunications standards, as well as the protection of maritime communication routes in the Indo-Pacific.
While Beijing is expected to target the four partners for trying to target China at the meeting, there has been a sea change since ministers met informally on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on September 26, 2019. take steps towards an institutionalized dialogue at the meeting, where Chinese actions since the emergence of the global pandemic in Wuhan will be the subject of a magnifying glass.
The Quad ministerial meeting comes at a time when the Donald Trump administration has turned US policy toward China 180 degrees, which was guided by the policy of rapprochement designed by Henry Kissinger 50 years ago under the administration. Republican Richard Nixon. America’s tough new policy toward communist China was defined by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in his speech at the Nixon Library on July 24.
India’s relationship with China has taken a 180-degree turn since the Chennai summit on October 11-12, 2019, following the People’s Liberation Army’s aggression in eastern Ladakh in May. The armies of the two countries are still locked in a staring match in Ladakh with both sides losing soldiers in the June 15 outbreak in the Galwan Valley and firing into the air in the first week of September after the Indian army seized. overtake the PLA south. by Pangong Tso. This is not everything.
Australia’s relationship with China, its largest trading partner, has taken a nosedive with Beijing imposing an 80% tariff on barley, launching an anti-dumping investigation on Australian wine, blocking Australian meat, arresting an Australian journalist and banning two academics visit China.
The situation with Japan is no different, with Chinese warmongering over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea forcing Tokyo to increase its defense budget to a record high. Tokyo is also upset by the new security laws in Hong Kong and the pressure exerted by Beijing on democratic Taiwan.
In short, the four Quad partners have their own reasons to be upset with China’s aggressive stance under Supreme Leader Xi Jinping under the mask of the deadly coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. China’s position on the Indo-Pacific and the threat it poses to the democratic world will be discussed at the Tokyo ministerial meeting, and all Quadl partners will share their experiences.
Since all Quad partners have a military supply and logistics exchange agreement with each other, the Foreign Ministers will also make a decision on a four-nation naval exercise under the Malabar rubric in the Arabian Sea to signal their commitment to free and open form. navigation in the Indo-Pacific.
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