South China Sea row high on Quad agenda with ‘message’ aimed at Beijing

Without naming China, the Quad has expressed concerns about ‘any unilateral actions’ to change the status quo in the South China Sea

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Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meet in Tokyo on July 29. Photo: AP

Published: 3:30pm, 31 Jul 2024Updated: 4:40pm, 31 Jul 2024

Foreign ministers from Australia, India, Japan and the United States met this week to express serious concerns over intimidating and dangerous manoeuvres in the South China Sea in a move seen as “sending a message” to China.

Observers point to encouraging initiatives relating to cyberspace, artificial intelligence and maritime security that also emerged from the talks, particularly a maritime legal dialogue to build expertise on international law.

During the meeting between the Quad countries in Tokyo attended by Australia’s Penny Wong, India’s Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Japan’s Yoko Kamikawa and Antony Blinken from the US on Monday, the four countries pledged to bolster maritime security in the region.

Without naming China, the joint statement said the Quad was “seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas”, reiterating its “strong opposition to any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion”.

The foreign ministers voiced serious concern about the militarisation of disputed features and coercive and intimidating manoeuvres in the South China Sea, including the dangerous use of coastguard and maritime militia vessels.

Chinese coastguard personnel approached Philippine troops on a resupply mission in the Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed South China Sea with one of them holding an axe on June 17. Photo: AP

China and the Philippines have clashed on several occasions in the disputed waterways in recent months, with Chinese personnel deploying water cannons, boarding Philippine vessels armed with axes and machetes and destroying equipment to disrupt Manila’s resupply missions to the Second Thomas Shoal.