What the Hell is the “Quad”?
The Quad – shorthand for the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue – said in the first of five points in the statement that: “We bring diverse perspectives and are united in a shared vision for the free and open Indo-Pacific. We strive for a region that is free, open, inclusive, healthy, anchored by democratic values, and unconstrained by coercion.”
“We support the rule of law, freedom of navigation and overflight, peaceful resolution of disputes, democratic values, and territorial integrity,” the statement says later.
“We will continue to prioritise the role of international law in the maritime domain, particularly as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and facilitate collaboration, including in maritime security, to meet challenges to the rules-based maritime order in the East and South China Seas,” they added.
Let’s be real….this is all about China….they cm add all the flowery words to the mission statement but in the end it is about confrontation with China.
The summit not only issued a formal statement. Unusually also, Biden and the prime ministers of India, Australia and Japan—Narendra Modi, Scott Morrison and Yoshihide Suga respectively—put their names to an opinion piece published prominently in the Washington Post on Sunday. The comment is replete with cynical motherhood statements about their advocacy of democracy, action on climate change and COVID-19 vaccines, and commitment to “an Indo-Pacific region that is free, open, secure and prosperous.”
However, while China is not mentioned, it dominated the discussion at the summit. The pledges by the four leaders to pursue regional co-operation, partnership and engagement do not, of course, extend to Beijing. Buried in the various public statements were thinly-veiled references to Chinese coercion—from the US that has routinely waged war and ousted governments to advance its imperialist interests—and the need to uphold “freedom of navigation”—that is, for the US Navy to provocatively intrude into waters around Chinese-controlled islets in the South China Sea.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/03/16/quad-m16.html
No matter how flowery and forward thinking the statement may sound….make no mistake that it is all about China and the confrontation of the PRC.
Same old song! Nothing changes!
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
Whenever I see ‘United nations’, I start to switch off. The Veto makes the whole organisation completely pointless.
Best wishes, Pete.
Yes the Security Council should have NO permanent members…..chuq