Leading the rhetoric against China, the outgoing U.S. President Biden in the most blunt statement issued against China said at the Quad Summit, that Chinese President Xi Jinping is “looking to buy himself some diplomatic space, in my view, to aggressively pursue China’s interest.”
Biden reiterated that the Quad nations consisting of India, Japan, the U.S. and Australia require intense diplomacy in times of competition as, ‘’China continues to behave aggressively, testing us all across the region on several fronts, including on economic and technology issues”.
In the sternest language ever used against China by the Quad, the leaders raised concerns about Chinese activities in the Indo-Pacific, especially the South China Sea, as they listed specific actions of Chinese militarism.
As a part of the Wilmington Declaration formulated by PM Narendra Modi, President Joe Biden, Australian PM Anthony Albanese and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida issued a veiled criticism of China.
The statement said, “We continue to express our serious concern about the militarization of disputed features, and coercive and intimidating maneuvers in the South China Sea.”
The bloc went on to ‘condemn the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels disrupting other countries’ offshore resource exploitation activities.’
Remember, the statement by Quad comes in the backdrop of the heated dispute between China and the Philippines which can escalate into a war due to the constant dogfight between the coast guards of both nations near the resource-rich Second Thomas Shoal which comes under the Philippines Exclusive Economic Zone.
Encroaching the waters over the West Philippine Sea and claiming sovereignty over it, China has expanded the nine-dash line to 10 dashes by claiming all of the South China Sea.
Beijing claims almost the entire waterway overlapping the exclusive economic zones of the rival claimants Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
China’s constant expansion and militarisation come under the backdrop of the substantial energy deposits (hydrocarbon resources) in the waters.
Echoeing similar remarks,Indian PM Narendra Modi while Addressing the 6th Quad Leaders’ summit in Wilmington, strongly called for a ”support rules-based international order, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and peaceful resolution of all disputes.”
