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US-China rivalry: is the Quad on track to take on Beijing?
- Grouping of US, Japan, India and Australia is ‘emerging as a political and military bloc that sees China as their common challenge’, international relations expert says
- Formalisation of alliance is ‘closely linked to China’s security policy and assertive posturing in recent years’, academic says
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As the United States seeks to formalise a four-nation alliance to counter China’s growing influence in the Asia-Pacific, Chinese foreign policy observers are asking whether Beijing’s assertiveness has pushed its regional neighbours closer to Washington.
In a meeting with the foreign ministers of Japan, India and Australia in Tokyo on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appealed for nations to counter what he called the Chinese Communist Party’s “exploitation, corruption and coercion”, signalling Washington’s desire to strengthen the so-called Quad from a loose grouping into a Nato-like security alliance.
While Beijing has yet to formally respond to the comments made at the meeting, the Chinese embassy in Tokyo said in a statement on Wednesday that multilateral groupings should not be “exclusive cliques” that threaten the interests of third parties.
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“Pompeo has repeatedly fabricated lies about China and maliciously created political confrontation. We once again urge the US to abandon its Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice, stop unprovoked accusations and attacks against China and treat relations with China in a constructive manner,” it said.
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Chinese foreign policy analysts say that while it is unlikely the Quad will become a formal treaty alliance like Nato, Beijing must come to terms with the fact its aggressive posturing in recent years may have pushed its neighbours closer to one another and the US.
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