The Quartet Security Dialogue statement “maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific” pointed at China

U.S. President Joe Biden met Saturday (May 20) with the heads of state of Japan, India and Australia for a Leaders’ summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue on the sidelines of the G-7 meeting in Hiroshima. In the joint statement, they criticized China without naming it and stressed that they would “firmly safeguard peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific waters”.

The summit is the fifth meeting of the leaders of the Quartet. In his opening remarks, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the region “respects sovereignty and all nations, large and small, benefit from maintaining a peaceful regional balance.”

“There is no doubt that the Indo-Pacific region is the engine of global trade, innovation and development,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his opening remarks at the four-way summit.

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue supports infrastructure, security, climate, health, science and technology in the Indo-Pacific region. It mainly facilitates cooperation between organizations to solve regional problems.

“We firmly oppose unilateral actions that destabilize or aim to change the status quo through force or coercion,” the Quartet said in a joint statement. Such diplomatic language appeared to refer to the party’s economic tactics for exerting influence over poorer countries, as well as its military expansion in the Pacific, AFP said.

“We express grave concern over militarisation of the disputed area, the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels, and actions that disrupt the exploitation of resources offshore by other countries,” the statement said, AFP said, in a clear reference to the Communist Party’s construction of bases on offshore reefs to harass non-Chinese vessels in disputed waters.

The four leaders expressed support for developing infrastructure projects in the Asia-Pacific region, but also said they would not impose excessive debt on the beneficiary countries, and again criticized China for financing development projects in Asia. They also pledged at the summit to protect the development of undersea cable networks in the Indo-Pacific region and to help fight illegal fishing. The $5 million project to develop an undersea Internet connection cable is designed by Australia, with the United States overseeing technical and security aspects.

The leaders also expressed “deep concern” over the crackdown by Burma’s ruling military junta and condemned North Korea’s missile launches and continued nuclear program.