The Quad alliance will look to expand its remit by bringing more countries into the grouping and present a united front against authoritarian regimes, as Russia and China grow increasingly close ahead of a potential invasion of Ukraine.
The foreign ministers of the Quad grouping – which includes Australia, the United States, India and Japan – on Friday vowed to ramp up efforts to combat misinformation from some countries, including China, North Korea and Russia.
At their meeting in Melbourne, the four foreign ministers also agreed with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s suggestion to expand the Quad to include “dialogue partners”, and discussed how the alliance could better work with other multilateral organisations, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The Quad also agreed to expedite the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to developing nations in the region, including an additional multimillion-dollar investment from Australia.
The meeting was held as the US and its allies fear Russia could begin invading Ukraine in coming days.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that “others are watching”, suggesting that China would be emboldened if the US and its allies allowed Russia to invade Ukraine unpunished.
Mr Blinken said Ukraine’s sovereignty wasn’t the only thing at stake if Russia began to move its more than 100,000 troops across the border, adding that basic international principles would be trashed.
“Principles like one country can’t simply change the borders of another by force,” he said. “Principles like one country can’t simply dictate to another its choices, its policies, with whom it will associate. Principles like one country can’t exert a sphere of influence to subjugate its neighbours to its will.”
“If we allow those principles to be challenged with impunity – even if it’s half the world away in Europe – that will have an impact here [in Australia] as well.”
While the Quad has traditionally been focused on standing up to a rising and more aggressive China, there is growing concern among the four countries that China and Russia are presenting a united front.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Hayashi Yoshimasa and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pose for a photo in Melbourne ahead of their meeting on Friday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin last week met Chinese President Xi Jinping in person, and the two leaders released a statement saying they “oppose further enlargement of NATO” and called on the organisation to “abandon its ideologised Cold War approaches”.
Of the four Quad countries, India, which was represented by External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at the meeting, would be the least prepared to upset Russia given its history of taking a neutral approach when it comes to Moscow.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the “rules and norms that have provided a foundation for our stability, and hence our prosperity, are under pressure, in particular from authoritarian regimes”.
Senator Payne said she had reiterated Australia’s “very deep concerns about the Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s border”.
“I’ve also reiterated Australia’s strong support for Ukraine sovereignty and territorial integrity, and that we will continue to support our allies and partners to deter this sort of aggression and to raise the costs of this kind of behaviour,” she said.
Mr Morrison said the four countries were facing a “very fragile, fragmented and contested world and that is no more accentuated than here in our Indo-Pacific”, but he was reassured to be meeting with like-minded Quad partners.
“I’m reassured by our perspective, I’m reassured by the understanding that is shared between each of us.”
Japan was represented by its Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hayashi Yoshimasa, at the meeting.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese, who also met with Mr Blinken on Friday, said Labor was concerned about the “changed posture of China” and the “need to stand firm in Australia’s interests and in the interests of all of those who hold democratic values dear”.
“I indicated that if we are successful in the election, then I look forward to reacquainting myself with President Biden who I have met on a couple of occasions,” he said.
Mr Albanese said he told Mr Blinken that his party supported the AUKUS agreement with the US and Britain, including the proposal to build nuclear-powered submarines.
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2022-02-11 05:24:55Z
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