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TOKYO: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on Asia’s key allies to unite against China’s “exploitation, corruption and coercion” in the region, while holding talks in Tokyo on Tuesday (October 6) .
Pompeo spoke at the beginning of discussions with his Japanese, Indian and Australian counterparts, the so-called Quad group, which seeks to present a united front against an increasingly assertive Beijing.
But it was the top US diplomat who took the hardest line with China, referring to the “pandemic that came from Wuhan,” which he said was “infinitely worse because of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cover-up.”
He warned that it was “more critical now than ever that we cooperate to protect our people and partners from the CCP’s exploitation, corruption and coercion,” citing China’s actions in the Himalayas, the Taiwan Strait and elsewhere.
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This rhetoric was not fully shared by Washington’s partners in the group, although Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne deliberately spoke of the desire for a region “governed by rules, not power.”
The talks come with Washington, Sydney and New Delhi, all at odds with Beijing.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar noted that the fact that the meeting was happening, given the coronavirus pandemic, was “a testament to the importance” of the alliance.
But Japan, under the leadership of new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, seeks to balance the need to support its allies with its desire to continue to gradually improve ties with China.
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Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi did not mention China in his remarks and the government has said the talks are not aimed at any country.
“Lately, the current international order has been challenged in various fields and the new coronavirus is accelerating the trend,” Motegi said at the beginning of the meeting.
“Our four countries share the goal of strengthening a free and open, rules-based international order.”
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OTHER WORN STOPS
Pompeo’s visit, which included bilateral talks with his counterparts and a meeting with Suga, took place despite the coronavirus crisis in Washington, where President Donald Trump and several staff members and advisers tested positive.
Although planned stops in South Korea and Mongolia were scrapped, Pompeo said it was important to go ahead with the four-way talks in Tokyo, promising “major announcements.”
However, no joint statements or press conferences are expected after the meeting.
Pompeo is a vociferous critic of China on issues ranging from security to human rights to the pandemic, which the Trump administration has tried to blame directly on Beijing ahead of next month’s US elections.
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He is the first senior US official to visit Japan since Suga took office last month, and he said he was sure Tokyo and Washington were on the same page.
Earlier on Tuesday, Suga said the spread of the coronavirus had demonstrated “exactly why now is the time that we must further deepen coordination with as many countries as possible who share our vision.”
But he also avoided any specific mention of Beijing, which has made clear his disdain for the group, and last week urged countries to avoid “closed and exclusive cliques.”
“We hope that the relevant countries can proceed from the common interests of the countries in the region and do more things that lead to regional peace, stability and development, not the other way around,” said the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry. , Wang Wenbin.
The Quad grouping was heavily promoted by former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as a way for the region’s major democracies to intensify cooperation in the face of military and other threats posed by China.
The first Quad meeting took place in New York last year, and there are moves to make the meeting an annual event.
