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US lines up ‘Squad’ featuring Australia, Japan and Philippines to counter China in Indo-Pacific
- US defence chief Lloyd Austin said the grouping would look at undertaking more maritime drills, as well as providing greater security assistance to Manila
- The new bloc is one of a number of regional partnerships that Washington has used to push back against China’s assertiveness in the region
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Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin met on Thursday with his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines as the US deepens ties with an emerging regional group that Pentagon officials have privately nicknamed, the “Squad.”
The quadrilateral grouping is one of a number of regional partnerships that Washington has used to push back against China’s assertiveness in Asia. There is also the Quad comprised of the US, Australia, India and Japan and Aukus, a defence pact among Australia, the UK and the US.
“We’ve gathered here because we share a vision for peace, stability and deterrence in the Indo-Pacific,” Austin said during a joint press briefing in Hawaii with his three counterparts. “We’ve chartered an ambitious course to advance that vision together.”
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The defence chiefs of the “Squad” met for the first time in June 2023 on the sidelines of the Shangri-La security dialogue in Singapore.
In April, the four nations conducted joint maritime patrols within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone against the backdrop of ongoing tensions between Manila and Beijing over territorial claims in the South China Sea.
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