KUALA LUMPUR – In a veiled rebuke against Beijing, foreign ministers of Australia, India, Japan and the US have raised concerns over the militarisation and intimidating manoeuvres in the South China Sea after the “Quad” talks.
Among the tactics mentioned were the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels.
After the talks in Tokyo, Australia’s Penny Wong, India’s Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Yoko Kamikawa of Japan and Antony Blinken from the US issued a joint communique, pledging to bolster maritime security in the East and South China Seas.
“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.
“We continue to express our serious concern about the militarisation of disputed features, and coercive and intimidating manoeuvres in the South China Sea,” they said – without mentioning China.
The communique today appears to be less scathing than the one issued yesterday by the US and Japan, which labelled China as the “greatest strategic challenge” facing the region, and that Beijing’s “foreign policy seeks to reshape the international order for its own benefit at the expense of others”.
The US and Japan met yesterday to announce a major revamp of its military command in Japan to deepen coordination with its ally’s forces, which included cybersecurity capability and training opportunities in maritime security.
Blinken is touring a number of Asia-Pacific countries aimed at bolstering regional cooperation in the face of Beijing’s assertiveness, among others.
Clashes in the South China Sea are a longstanding issue among countries who have laid claim, such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Beijing has repeatedly claimed the South China Sea as its own, building more than two dozen military outposts on disputed islands over the past 15 years.
The South China Sea is a critical world trade route, especially for oil and gas.
In 2023, 10 billion barrels of petroleum and petroleum products and 6.7 trillion cubic feet of liquefied natural gas passed through the waterways. – July 29, 2024