China blows hot and cold over Quad summit

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian speaks during a press conference in Beijing, China. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

China on Monday (September 23, 2024) termed Quad as a tool used by the U.S. to contain Beijing, asserting that interference by any external force will not shake its determination to uphold its “sovereignty and maritime rights” in the disputed South and East China Seas.

The Quad, identified as the premier regional grouping in the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy, is a tool used by Washington to contain China to perpetuate its hegemony, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a media briefing, fielding a spate of questions on the Quad summit.

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Hosted by President Joe Biden, the Quad Summit took place on Saturday in his hometown Wilmington, Delaware. The summit was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan.

Mr. Lin accused the U.S. of pooling together countries to muster military and security cooperation under the pretext of maritime issues to contain China by peddling the China threat narrative.

The U.S. says Qaud doesn’t target China but the highest on its agenda is China, he said in a veiled reference to informal comments by Biden to fellow Quad leaders.

Mr. Biden was caught on a hot mic telling leaders of the Quad nations that China was testing them, thus reflecting upon the American seriousness of the emerging Chinese threat.

“We believe [Chinese President] Xi Jinping is looking to focus on domestic economic challenges and minimise the turbulence in China,” Mr. Biden told the leaders at the Summit.

The U.S. is lying through its teeth and even the media doesn’t believe it, Mr. Lin said, replying to a question about Mr. Biden’s comments.

Ganging up to form exclusive groupings undermines the mutual trust and cooperation between the regional countries, Mr. Lin said.

It runs counter to the overall trend of pursuing peace, development cooperation and prosperity in the Asia Pacific and it is bound to fail, he said.

Ever since the Quad started taking shape in 2007, China has been saying that the four-member grouping will be bound to fail. But much to the chagrin of Beijing, it picked up pace in the recent years emerging as a premier strategic group especially challenging China’s assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea.

In 2018, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi termed the Quad as a headline-grabbing idea and will dissipate like foam in the sea.

Commenting on the steady evolution of Quad and the outcome of the Delaware summit, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post said “By any measure, the Quad summit culminates a remarkable transformation for the framework of four nations over the course of its 17-year history”.

About the Quad summit expressing grave concern over the situation in the South China Sea and East China Sea, Lin said external interference will not shake China’s resolve to uphold its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

China claims most of the South China Sea. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims.

The East China Sea dispute concerns claims and counterclaims by China and Japan.

Mr. Lin said the situation in the South China Sea and East China Sea is stable. Some countries outside the region are trying to interfere in China’s internal affairs by forming exclusive circles to escalate the situation.

“I want to stress that any inference of any forces will not shake China’s firm determination to uphold its territorial sovereignty, maritime rights interests, regional peace and stability,” he said, adding that China will lodge diplomatic protests to countries if they take any action to undermine Beijing’s sovereignty.

He also parried questions over the Quad announcing its first joint Coast Guard Mission at Sea and strengthening cooperation in the Indian Ocean region.

The Quad joint statement said, “We remain committed to strengthening cooperation in the Indian Ocean region. We strongly support IORA (Indian Ocean Rim Association) as the Indian Ocean region’s premier forum for addressing the region’s challenges. We recognize India’s leadership in finalising the IORA Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (IOIP) and express our support for its implementation”.

Mr. Lin said that cooperation between countries should be conducive to regional peace and prosperity rather than forming exclusive circles to undermine mutual trust and cooperation between countries.

China is open to countries for normal cooperation but relevant cooperation should not target other countries and undermine regional cooperation, peace and stability, he said.