(Observer News) On May 24, US President Joe Biden's trip to Asia has reached its fourth day. In addition to the "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework," Biden also has a major "China containment move" in Japan at the second stop, that is, to convene the leaders of Japan, Australia and India to hold a "Quad" summit in Tokyo.
The leaders of the four countries declared that they would work together to create a so-called "free and open Indo-Pacific" and take steps to combat climate change. At the same time, the four countries plan to take steps to counter China's growing military and economic influence.
The Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK) expects the Quad joint statement to likely emphasize "addressing the challenges to the 'rules-based maritime order'" and "the importance of abiding by international law" to curb so-called "China's maritime expansion."
It is worth mentioning that Australia's new prime minister was quickly sent to Tokyo to attend the meeting as soon as he was elected, and Biden used his concern and greetings to ridicule him: Since the car and horse are lawton, it is okay to fall asleep. Perhaps, the US president, who has the nickname of "Sleepy Joe", also knows that this talk is nothing more than a cliché against China.
Screenshot of the AFP report
According to CNN and Agence France-Presse, Biden highlighted the situation in Ukraine in his opening speech, claiming that Russia's "invasion" of Ukraine has caused a "humanitarian disaster" and that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is an issue that requires the world's common attention. He said the United States would continue to work with allies to respond to Russia, and that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict would "enhance the goals and shared values of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue."
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said citing the Russian-Ukrainian conflict that Quad should not allow something similar to happen in the Indo-Pacific region, "It is important that we gather together to show the international community the unity of the four countries and our commitment to a shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific." ”
Albanese, who has just formally assumed australian prime ministership, stressed that australia's new government's priorities will be aligned with the Quad agenda, taking action on climate change and participating in what is known as a "stronger, more resilient Indo-Pacific." He said Australia needed Quad partnerships more than ever to address "the challenges and threats of a less certain world".
At the meeting, Albanese pledged that australia's new government would set a new environmental target of reducing emissions by 43% by 2030, allowing Australia to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
Despite the fierce criticism of Russia by both the United States and Japan, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued his "neutral" attitude, saying nothing about the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in his speech. Instead, he stressed the importance of "mutual cooperation," saying Quad had strengthened coordination in areas such as vaccine delivery, climate change, supply chain recovery, and economic cooperation, helping to consolidate Quad's international image.
The leaders of the United States, Japan, India and Australia held the "Quadrilateral Security Dialogue" summit in Tokyo
The leaders of the four countries have not yet issued a joint statement on the content of the conference, but Kishida announced the Quad Scholarship Program after the closed-door meeting, which will fund 100 students from the United States, Japan, Australia, India and the United States to pursue graduate degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education (STEM).
Bloomberg noted that Biden congratulated Australian Prime Minister Albanese on winning the election in his speech, and he also joked to Albanese: "You just took the oath of office and then flew to the meeting, if you fall asleep at the meeting, it doesn't matter." ”
The scene of the "Quartet Security Dialogue" is pictured from Agence France-Presse
CNN mentioned that some foreign media reporters bypassed the topic of scholarships and asked Biden whether the so-called "strategic ambiguity" policy of the United States on Taiwan had changed, and Biden replied "no." Asked if the United States would send troops to intervene in Chinese mainland military reunification of Taiwan, Biden stressed: "The POLICY of the United States has not changed in the slightest, and I have already made this clear." ”
At a joint press conference held yesterday (23 July) with Kishida Fumio, a foreign media reporter asked a question about the armed conflict in the Taiwan Strait and asked whether the United States would intervene militarily. At the time, Biden replied, "Yes, this is a commitment made by the United States." He also claimed that the United States supports the "one-China" principle but "does not believe that this policy gives the mainland the power to take over Taiwan by force."
But White House officials quickly clarified on the same day, saying that biden's "commitment" was only that the United States would provide "military defense capabilities" to the Taiwan region, and that the U.S. policy toward the Taiwan region had not changed.
CNN: Biden said that the US policy of "strategic ambiguity" toward Taiwan has not changed
The Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK) expects a joint statement to be issued later to reaffirm the four countries' commitment to the establishment of a so-called "free and open Indo-Pacific region" and propose specific ways for the four countries to cooperate in the Indo-Pacific region, including the establishment of a new framework to address climate change and satellite observation cooperation.
NHK said the joint statement may also emphasize "addressing the challenges to the 'rules-based maritime order'" and "the importance of abiding by international law" in response to so-called "China's maritime expansion."
Agence France-Presse mentioned that as the only country in Quad that remains neutral in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, India may seek a joint statement with a more "moderate" tone to avoid the "strong words" commonly used by the United States, Japan and Australia on the Russian-Ukrainian issue.
The day before the summit (23rd), Biden officially announced the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) on the first day of his visit to Japan, which, according to the U.S. government, will help U.S. and Asian economies work more closely together on issues such as supply chains, digital trade, clean energy, worker protection, and anti-corruption efforts.
The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework comprises a total of 13 initial members, with the exception of the United States, the other 12 initial members being Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. However, the US media pointed out that due to the lack of substantive content such as market access, the real attractiveness of the framework is still questioned.
In this regard, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on the 23rd that as State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi pointed out, China, like regional countries, is happy to see initiatives conducive to strengthening regional cooperation, but opposes attempts to create separatist confrontation. China believes that no matter what the name of the regional cooperation framework, it should promote free trade and should not engage in disguised protectionism; it should contribute to the recovery of the world economy and should not undermine the stability of the industrial chain; it should promote open cooperation and should not create geopolitical confrontation.
Wang Wenbin stressed that the code for success in the Asia-Pacific region is win-win cooperation, not zero-sum confrontation. The Asia-Pacific region should be a highland for peaceful development, not a geopolitical arena. All kinds of conspiracies to camp, NATO and Cold War in the Asia-Pacific region are unlikely to succeed.
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