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Pompeo asks ‘Quad’ allies to stand against China’s ‘corruption, coercion’
- Speaking with his Japanese, Indian and Australian counterparts in Tokyo, Mike Pompeo said cooperation against Beijing now more critical than ever
- The US, Australia and India are all at loggerheads with Beijing, while Japan walks a tightrope trying to preserve ties
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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on key Asian allies to unite against China’s “exploitation, corruption and coercion” in the region, as he held talks in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Pompeo was speaking at the start of discussions with his Japanese, Indian and Australian counterparts – the so-called Quad grouping, seeking to present a united front against an increasingly assertive Beijing.
But it was the top US diplomat who took the hardest line on China, referring to the “pandemic that came from Wuhan”, which he said was “made infinitely worse by the Chinese Communist Party’s cover-up”.
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He warned it was “more critical now than ever that we collaborate to protect our people and partners from the CCP’s exploitation, corruption and coercion”, citing China’s actions in the Himalayas, Taiwan Strait and elsewhere.
This rhetoric was not fully echoed by Washington’s partners in the grouping, although Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne pointedly spoke of the desire for a region “governed by rules, not power”.
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