On February 18, the foreign ministers of the “security quartet” or “diamond quartet” including the US, Japan, Australia and India have just had an online meeting. The meeting was chaired by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The “Diamond Quartet” coordinates more closely
NATO warns of the rise of ChinaNATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on February 19 called on members and partners to tighten ties because China’s rise “has consequences” for transatlantic security. “The rise of China is an existential problem for the transatlantic community with potential consequences for our security, prosperity and our way of life,” said Stoltenberg at the Security Conference. Munich (Germany), hosted online February 19, according to AFP. “That is why NATO should deepen our relationships with our close partners like Australia and Japan and establish new partners globally,” added Mr. Stoltenberg. China’s growing power is reshaping NATO’s priorities, which often focus on the Russian threat, according to Reuters. NATO is now seeking consensus among Western countries that China is no longer a “friendly trading partner”. Huynh Thiem |
According to GS Sato, early October 2020, the meeting of foreign ministers of the “diamond quartet” in Tokyo (Japan) took place as a monologue of the US Secretary of State at that time, Mr. Mike Pompeo to criticize China. , making the remaining 3 countries somewhat in a dilemma. At that time, worrying that when Mr. Biden became US president, Washington’s policy towards Beijing might change, so the remaining partners in the “quartet” have not yet expressed support for the the criticism Pompeo made was aimed at China.
Mr. Sato analyzed further: “At the meeting on February 18, the statement of the US State Department was peaceful. That is probably intended to facilitate Beijing to seek reconciliation with Washington. However, a statement from the Japanese side of the meeting indicated that the meeting discussed the Myanmar situation and China’s new maritime law – which allows the country’s seas to open fire against foreign ships in waters where Beijing claims sovereignty.
In fact, after the meeting above, Washington also formally criticized China’s new maritime law. Specifically, Reuters quoted US State Department spokesman Ned Price, speaking at a press conference on February 19 (local time) in Washington, affirming the country “concerns about the wording of the new law, which is clearly hidden. There is a potential risk that the Chinese maritime forces may use force to reinforce China’s claims, the ongoing maritime and territorial disputes in the East China Sea and South China Sea.
“The latest meeting showed that the” quartet “has closer coordination and the willingness of the Biden administration to share allied concerns,” said Professor Sato. Turn around 18.2 online meeting.
Coordinate with many parties
Also responding to Thanh Nien, Associate Professor Stephen Robert Nagy (International Christian University – Japan; scholar at the Asia-Pacific Foundation in Canada) commented: The latest meeting of the “quartet” is aimed at Motivation building was achieved after the conference in October 2020. The meeting on February 18 also showed that the “quartet” can still develop even when Shinzo Abe is no longer leading the Japanese government and Donald Trump is no longer serving the US presidency. For a long time, the US under Mr. Trump and Japan under Mr. Abe are seen as two pioneering members to build the “diamond quartet”.
Transatlantic connections
According to Prime Minister Johnson, the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier group carrying the stealth 5th generation fighter F-35, will coordinate with the US warships to emphasize the possibility of cooperation between the two sides. . Not only that, Mr. Johnson also affirmed that Britain is working with the US, France and Germany as a transatlantic quartet to solve urgent problems.
Recently, the UK not only plans to deploy an aircraft carrier strike group to the South China Sea, but also wants to join the “security quadrilateral”. In addition, Britain, France and Germany have continuously taken actions in response to the concerns of China in the Indo-Pacific in general and the East Sea in particular.
Recently, French Defense Minister Florence Parly revealed a nuclear-powered attack submarine of the country has just made a voyage from the Atlantic to the Pacific. In particular, the submarine went to the East Sea to demonstrate “the ability to coordinate offshore and long term” with strategic partners such as the US, Australia and Japan. The voyage was also emphasized by Minister Florence Parly as a commitment to protect international law.
On February 19, the South China Morning Post reported that two French warships, the amphibious assault ship Tonnerre and the escort ship Surcouf, had just left their home port on February 18 for a three-month mission to the Pacific. Expected, in this mission, two warships will be present in the South China Sea twice and will have joint exercises with the US and Japan in May.
Late last year, German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said the country wanted to send warships to the Indo-Pacific to exercise with the Australian navy – a member of the “diamond quartet”. Also in 2020, France, along with Britain and Germany, sent a note to the United Nations to protest China’s sovereignty claims in the South China Sea.
Thus, developments are promising to coordinate the formation of a “diamond alliance” with a network that stretches from Indo-Pacific to trans-Atlantic to counter Beijing’s disturbing behavior.
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