TOKYO (AP) — Top diplomats from Japan, the U.S., Australia and India met Monday to discuss security concerns and joint support to reinforce maritime safety and cybersecurity in the Indo-Pacific region amid growing tensions with China.
At the meeting hosted in Tokyo by Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmayam Jaishankar were expected to share strong opposition to Beijing’s escalating assertiveness in the South China Sea.
China has triggered growing tension with many Asia-Pacific nations with its sweeping claims over the South China Sea and its crucial maritime trade routes. It also claims self-governing Taiwan as its territory, to be annexed by force if necessary. China’s military expansion has been criticized for lack of transparency.
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At what are known as the Quad talks, the four ministers were expected to discuss cooperation to counter cyber attacks, deal with disinformation and ensure maritime security. They are also looking to support other countries in the region to bolster their abilities in those areas.
Kamikawa said in her opening statement that maritime security in the region is increasingly unstable, so unity and cooperation is needed more than ever among the Quad countries in securing a rules-based free and open international order.
Without specifically naming China, Kamikawa said escalating tensions in “a certain region” and cyberattacks by “a certain country” can easily spill over to others in the region and increase their risks.
“In order to have the prosperity in the region, we must ensure stability of the foundation in maritime, cyber and space domains,” she said. “We Quad nations aim to protect the foundations of prosperity in the Indo-Pacific as we seek to achieve an international community of co-existence and co-prosperity.”
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Australia’s Wong said they are facing “the most confronting circumstances in our region in decades.”
She said the Quad nations are working to achieve a region that is governed by “accepted rules and norms where all of us can cooperate, can trade and thrive” and where “sovereignty is respected and competition is managed responsibly.”
The talks were also expected to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East and other shared concerns.
Blinken said those conflicts elsewhere in the world must be brought to an end, but he stressed the importance of events in the Indo-Pacific region. “We have not lost sight, indeed we are resolutely focused on this region that we share.”
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The talks came after Japan and the United States held their “2+2” security meeting Sunday, when they called China “the greatest strategic challenge.” They agreed on further deepening military cooperation by making major upgrades to their command structures and bolstering Japanese production and repair of U.S.- licensed weapons.
Associted Press writer Matthew Lee in Singapore contributed to this report.
