In recent years, China has begun to position itself more dramatically as the dominant power in the Asian region. This has been demonstrated, among other things, by the dismantling of Hong Kong’s autonomy system, the increasingly intense diplomatic and military exposure of Taiwan, and the strength of demonstrations in the South China Sea, where China claims more than 80 percent of the sea’s land.
However, gaining economic influence is just as important as Asian power at least because it can make it easier to pursue foreign and geopolitical goals. This is what the “One Region, One Road” initiative, the largest significant project of China to date, aims to expand the influence of the Asian country in the world through bilateral investments in infrastructure.
In addition, in September, China announced its intention to join the Comprehensive and Advanced Agreement for the Pacific Partnership (CPTTP). The FTA, which includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, is the successor to the Pacific Partnership (TPP), which the United States pulled out of in 2017. And it has no plans to back down for now.
The Chinese advance began to prick the eyes primarily of the United States, the other dominant power in the region. There are clear indications that the United States and its allies are increasingly eager to take action against the Chinese advance.
- can be mentioned The case of Vietnam, which recently strengthened its relations with Japan and the United States, although emphasizing that this should not be at the expense of Sino-Vietnamese relations. For example, an agreement was reached with Japan last month under which the Asian country can now transfer defense equipment and technology to Vietnam. And in August, US Vice President Kamala Harris did Historic visit In Vietnam, on the occasion he encouraged the Southeast Asian country to take stronger action against China’s flash in the South China Sea.
- The United States also renewed a treaty with the Philippines allowing American forces to deploy troops in the country., which is of strategic importance to the United States.
- Americans are making more and more exciting gestures towards Taiwan, which mainly involves arms sales and, to a lesser extent, angers Beijing, which still sees the island with its government as part of it.
In addition to bilateral cooperation as noted above, however, we have seen examples of multilateral unification attempts that, as required,
Strengthening quadripartite cooperation
In this regard, the initiative called the Quartet’s Security Dialogue, which is referred to only in the international press as the Quartet, is interesting.
An organization comprising the United States of America, Japan, Australia and India It could be a new pole Against China on the Asian continent, it is even too early to assess the viability of long-term cooperation.
Incidentally, former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Senzo raised the idea of creating the Quartet in 2007. However, the cooperation was short-lived, partly because Abe was forced to resign as Prime Minister and partly because most countries in the then global political environment sought to establish Better relations with China. Australia, for example, one of China’s most important trading partners, also pulled out of Quad in 2008.
Ten years later, the balance of power has changed. For example, relations between Australia and China have deteriorated in recent years, to the point that the Australian Federal Government has exercised one of its new powers by terminating two treaties with the state of Victoria under the One Zone project, One Road.
The initiative, called Quad, is a real, albeit undeclared, goal It is forbidden That China should become the undisputed master of the Asian continent.
To this end, the participating countries must one They have embarked on an ambitious strategy that, in addition to infrastructure and technology cooperation, will be reflected in areas such as the distribution of coronavirus vaccines. For example, the group reaffirmed its commitment to distribute 1.2 billion coronavirus vaccines worldwide.
A few years ago, cooperation among the Quartet countries was just an informal exchange of views between various diplomats. They first met at the foreign minister level only two years ago, but until then only as a background event for the UN General Assembly.
However, under the presidency of Joe Biden, negotiations have become more intense, and now it seems that cooperation is becoming more and more independent.
At the last meeting at the White House, the two sides adopted a joint statement that emphasized the importance of the rule of law, freedom of navigation, air travel, peaceful settlement of disputes, democratic values, and the territorial integrity of nations. All of this can be interpreted as a stab at Beijing’s direction, given China’s assertive foreign policy in recent years.
Although a number of questions remain about the future of the Quartet, for example It is unpredictable which country would prefer to cooperate with China in the future through the “One Region, One Road” initiative.However, the current trend at the moment is that the participating countries have an interest in strengthening the group.
Great defensive deal
Nothing indicates this better than the recent AUKUS agreement between Australia and its traditional allies, the United States and the United Kingdom. to that end The three countries have raised security cooperation to an unprecedented level, something that might not have happened had China not removed the burden.
Under the agreement, Australia will get $50 billion worth of nuclear-powered submarines from the US, which is a truly milestone, as neither the US nor the UK has yet shared the technology to do so with other countries.
Therefore, China has succeeded in strengthening the chain, between Australia is already embedded in its traditional federal system, and can not be expected in this regard.
Another area where there is still ample room for deepening cooperation is the mutual exchange of information. An example is the Five Eyes intelligence community, which includes New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States and Canada. The organization has a long history and its members share all the information with each other in a unique way. For example, if the activities of the Five Eyes could be expanded to other Quad countries, it would certainly give the United States a significant competitive advantage. However, this is not an easy task and the members of the organization have so far refrained from taking such steps.
However, it can also be observed within the Five Eyes Alliance quarrelsNew Zealand, for example, did not join the organization’s statement in May condemning Beijing for events in Hong Kong, abuses against Uyghurs, or demonstrations of power in the South China Sea.
Members of this – but does not imply that the organization does not allocate MEG is still important information with each other and is not excluded, as Australia can be seen for the time, whether at a higher level is to enter into cooperation, if China increases pressure on certain countries.
Cover photo: US President Joe Biden (2), Scott Morrison of Australia, Narendra Modi of India (J), Japanese Prime Minister Suga Josehead and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken (J) attend the Member States Security Dialogue Quartet in 2021 Eastern House The White House in Washington. On September 24th. MTI / Environmental Protection Agency / The New York Times / Sarabeth Money
