China’s maneuvers or actions in the South China Sea led foreign ministers from Australia, India, Japan, and the United States to express grave concerns and pledging to strengthen marine security in the area on Monday.
The US and Japan, the two allies, described China as the “greatest strategic challenge” confronting the area on Sunday during security negotiations between them.
The ‘Quad’ nations—Australia’s Penny Wong, India’s Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Japan’s Yoko Kamikawa, and the US’s Antony Blinken—met and agreed on a unified statement in Tokyo following their discussions.
Additionally, they voiced grave concerns regarding the militarization of disputed areas and the employment of coast guard and marine militia vessels in the South China Sea, as well as other coercive and intimidating tactics.
“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.
Although the two nations in July established a tentative deal intended to reduce tensions, Chinese boats have battled with Philippine ships on many occasions in recent months as the latter sought to resupply its troops on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal.
In order to uphold “the free and open maritime order,” the Quad group stated that they were working on a number of projects, such as assisting partners in enhancing domain knowledge through the use of satellite data, training, and capacity building. A plan to establish a fresh dialogue on marine law was also revealed.
As the Biden administration looks to offset an increasingly assertive China, Blinken and Austin will attend security discussions with another Asian partner, the Philippines, after departing from Tokyo.
