The foreign ministers of the United States, Japan, Australia and India on Monday collectively expressed “serious concern” over the situation in the South China Sea in a not-so-veiled rebuke to Beijing.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, whose countries make up the so-called Quad grouping, issued a joint statement calling for a “free and open” Pacific after talks in Tokyo.
The statement did not name China directly but referenced a series of recent confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the disputed South China Sea.
“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 joint communique read.
“We continue to express our serious concern about the militarization of disputed features, and coercive and intimidating maneuvers in the South China Sea,” it added.
The group also condemned North Korea’s “destabilizing” missile launches.
However, their statement was noticeably more muted than a communique issued after talks on Sunday between Blinken, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and their Japanese counterparts.
Without India and Australia present, the two countries issued scathing verbal attacks that, unlike the Quad statement, named and criticized not only China but also Russia.
Washington and Tokyo said China’s “foreign policy seeks to reshape the international order for its own benefit at the expense of others.”
Kamikawa said the Quad was determined to “cooperate for the coexistence and co-prosperity of the international community.”
They also slammed Russia’s “growing and provocative strategic military cooperation” with China.
Criticism of Moscow by the Quad is seen as awkward for India, which relies heavily on Russian arms supplies and whose Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Vladimir Putin this month.
Meanwhile, Blinken is on a tour of Asia-Pacific countries aimed at reinforcing regional cooperation in the face of Beijing’s growing assertiveness and its deepening ties with Russia.
His next stop is the Philippines—a nation locked in a longstanding territorial row with Beijing over parts of the South China Sea.
Violent clashes in the area have sparked concern that Manila’s ally Washington could be drawn into a conflict as Beijing steps up efforts to push its claims to almost the entire waterway, through which trillions of dollars’ worth of trade passes annually.
“We are charting a course for a more secure and open Indo-Pacific and Indian Ocean region by bolstering maritime security and domain awareness,” Blinken told reporters after the talks on Monday.
The state secretary is scheduled to arrive in Manila with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue presided over by President Ferdinand Marcos.
This will be Blinken’s second trip to Manila this year, while Austin’s last visit was in 2023.
Austin’s recent trip to the Philippines was part of a 10-day tour of the Indo-Pacific region.
The Philippines and the United States are expected to discuss stronger bilateral relations and deeper defense cooperation and enhancing the country’s defense capabilities.
During the dialogue, the U.S. Department of Defense said that Austin will announce $500 million in foreign military financing for the Philippines to help bolster the defenses of America’s oldest treaty ally in Asia.
The two countries have designated four new US rotational access sites in the Philippines as part of the 2023 expansion of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, originally signed in 2014.
The visit of the US officials signals Washington’s continued backing of the Philippines’ ongoing dispute with China over the contested West Philippine Sea.
China, however, has been vocal in rejecting intervention from the international community especially from the US over the tension in the South China Sea, citing the issue between Asian countries.
Immediately after the Quad ministers released their joint communiqué, Beijing accused the four nations of “creating tension, inciting confrontation, and containing the development of other countries.”
It also warned Japan and the US to “stop creating imaginary enemies,” saying their bilateral statement “maliciously attacks China’s foreign policy.”
As this developed, the Philippine government said the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson “mischaracterized” the success of the rotation and reprovision (RORE) mission to the BRP Sierra Madre on Ayungin Shoal on July 27.
Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Teresita Daza said Beijing asserted “false notions” about what had been agreed upon and how they were implemented.
A Chinese spokesperson earlier claimedthe resupply mission was approved by China through “prior notification and on-site confirmation,” and that “the entire process was monitored by the China Coast Guard and that China had been notified of the resupply before it was carried out.”
“Let us make it absolutely clear: the understanding between the Philippines and China was concluded in good faith, with the explicit agreement that it will not prejudice national positions. It is not helpful to keep giving false notions about what has been agreed on and how they were implemented,” Daza said.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline Quad ‘seriously concerned’ about situation in South China Sea
