Antony Blinken says US ‘not distracted’ by Ukraine war, Quad offers ‘choice’ from China

During a Quad meeting with partners India, Japan and Australia, Antony Blinken said the bloc offered ‘choice’ to countries, in a veiled reference to China
Blinken’s comments come as the US tries to reassure smaller countries it is still focused on balancing a bolder China despite Washington’s efforts in the Ukraine war

India

Kunal Purohit

Published: 7:40pm, 3 Mar 2023

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The United States’ top diplomat Antony Blinken reiterated his country’s commitment to the Quad grouping, calling it a “critical vehicle” for engaging Asian nations amid concerns Washington may be distracted by the war in Ukraine.

The US Secretary of State’s latest remarks at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi reflected a continuing regional charm offensive by Washington to assure smaller countries in its diplomatic ambit that it remained focused on balancing China’s assertiveness despite its commitment to the European conflict.

Apart from appearing in a panel discussion together, Blinken and his counterparts from India, Australia and Japan held four-way talks on the sidelines of the forum, India’s premier foreign policy conference.

The Quad – seen by Beijing as an informal alliance to encircle it – on Friday also announced a new working group to foster greater cooperation on maritime security and engagement with countries in Asia.

Later on Friday, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning slammed the Quad meeting, referring to it as an “exclusionary bloc.”

“We hope certain countries can do more things that contribute to security and mutual trust between regional countries and that help to maintain peace and stability,” Mao said, in response to a question.

03:02

G20 foreign ministers fail to produce consensus statement over Ukraine war

“Not only are we not distracted [by the Ukraine war], on the contrary, we are more deeply engaged than ever [in the region],” Blinken said in the dialogue session, pointing to its enhanced presence in the region. “The Quad is one of the most critical vehicles of that engagement.”

Blinken made the comments immediately after the four ministers concluded a closed-door meeting, during which the group agreed to step up its partnership with the Indian Ocean Rim Association, a regional grouping of 23 countries spanning the Indian Ocean, while setting up a new Quad Maritime Security Working Group.

In a joint statement, the Quad partners said they were “determined to deepen engagement with regional partners” through issues like information sharing, enhancing partners’ capacity to protect and develop offshore resources and promote safety and security of sea lines of communication.

Our proposition is not to say to countries in the region you have to choose, our proposition is to offer choice, to offer an affirmative alternative

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken

In the discussion, Blinken was joined by the other Quad partners in insisting the grouping, which China has consistently opposed and called the “Asian Nato”, was not a military alliance but one that offered “choice” to countries in the region.

“Our proposition is not to say to countries in the region you have to choose, our proposition is to offer choice, to offer an affirmative alternative,” Blinken said.

India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar agreed, adding that the Quad offered “more choices for countries”, which was “something different”, he said, without naming China.

“My sense is that the interest in the Quad, the enthusiasm for it, the willingness to work with it are growing,” Jaishankar said.

The discussion came a day after Jaishankar held a 45-minute discussion with China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting, their first face-to-face meeting since Qin’s appointment in December.

The two ministers spoke about the unresolved border stand-off between both countries, with Jaishankar publicly saying ties between China and India had “real problems”.

On Friday morning, Jaishankar said the Quad was not “against somebody”, a veiled reference to Chinese concerns of the bloc. Japan’s foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said the Quad was “not trying to exclude anybody”.

“As long as China abides by international laws and norms, this is not a conflicting issue between China and Quad,” Hayashi said.

(From left) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japans Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar attend the Indo-Pacific Quad Foreign Ministers’ panel discussion in New Delhi. Photo: AFP

The Japanese foreign minister also stated that the four countries were in tune, comparing them to a very famous musical quartet, The Beatles.

“The members are fixed and they always play together [for over] 10 years,” Hayashi said. “But this is more kind of a soft group, so that even within The Beatles, Paul McCartney can release an album solo.”

Earlier in the day, the group was in sync and did release a joint statement by the Quad Foreign Ministers, that reiterated the bloc’s “consistent and unwavering support for Asean centrality and unity”, as well as its support to the Pacific Island countries on issues like climate change, resilient infrastructure and maritime security.

The group also announced a Quad Working Group On Counter-Terrorism, which “will explore cooperation among the Quad, and with Indo-Pacific partners, to counter new and emerging forms of terrorism, radicalisation to violence and violent extremism”, the joint statement added.

In addition, the joint statement also mentioned tensions in the South China Sea, insisting the group “strongly oppose(s) any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo or increase tensions in the area” and expressed “serious concern at the militarisation of disputed features” as well as the “dangerous use of coast guard vessels”, a veiled attack on China.

Ukraine war dominates India’s Raisina Dialogue, but China is far from forgotten

Russia slams Quad

The growing cooperation between the partners did come under fire from Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, who denounced the Quad at the Raisina Dialogue later in the day.

“We never engage in playing any country against any other country, but this is unfortunately being tried by some other outside players in the context of so-called Indo- Pacific strategy, using the Quad not for economic purposes but trying to militarise it,” Lavrov said, referring to the US.

Lavrov also targeted the Quad’s expanding cooperation in the region.

“The idea promoted by our American friends of Asean plus Quad is openly aimed at ruining East Asia Summits. In other words it means East Asia Summits minus China and Russia.”

Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse