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US-China relations
China

Quad bloc commits to Indo-Pacific disaster response plan on UN sidelines

  • Group China calls ‘Asia’s Nato’ comprising US, India, Japan and Australia reiterates ‘multilateral cooperation’ in support of ‘free and open’ region
  • Alliance’s widening reach in Indo-Pacific could elicit more ‘hostility’ from Beijing and require it to deliver on ensuring stability, analysts say

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Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong speaks next to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as they attend a meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue in New York on Friday. Photo: AFP
Khushboo Razdan
The foreign ministers of a strategic four-nation bloc operating as a bulwark against China signed a framework to coordinate disaster response operations in the Indo-Pacific while reiterating their commitment to “multilateral cooperation” in “support of advancing a free and open” region.
The partnership on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief came to fruition on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday. It was first announced by the leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the US at a summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue in Tokyo in May.
The plan represents yet another non-military initiative by the Quad, which was reestablished in 2017 and has been characterised by Beijing as “Asia’s Nato”.
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The White House now describes the strategic bloc as a “a premier regional grouping … on issues that matter to the Indo-Pacific”.

Representatives of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue comprising Australia, India, Japan and the US meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Friday. Photo: Courtesy of @DrSJaishankar via Twitter
Representatives of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue comprising Australia, India, Japan and the US meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Friday. Photo: Courtesy of @DrSJaishankar via Twitter

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said it was “extremely significant” that Quad nations “demonstrate” their firm commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region as the world “witnesses direct attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force”.

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