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

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.

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.

Asked about the statement at a regular news briefing on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said the Quad was “artificially creating tension, inciting confrontation and containing the development of other countries”.

Satoru Nagao, a non-resident fellow at the Hudson Institute based in Washington DC, said the South China Sea issue was mentioned in the fifth paragraph of the joint statement, in contrast to the 29th paragraph in the statement issued after last May’s