Washington:
China’s aggressiveness and the coercive nature in the resource-wealthy Indo-Pacific area is a frequent subject of discussion amongst the Quad nations, the Pentagon has mentioned.
In November 2017, India, Japan, the US and Australia gave shape to the lengthy-pending proposal of setting up the Quad to create a new method to hold the vital sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of charge of any influence, amidst China’s expanding military presence in the strategic area.
“There are lots of outcomes to the Quad relationship. And they don’t all have to do with China… It’s not that the Quad exists simply to counter China or their influence,” Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters on Thursday at a news conference.
“Now, obviously, what China’s doing in the Indo-Pacific region, the aggressiveness, the coercive nature with which they try to press their claims, certainly is a frequent topic of discussion with all our allies and partners, and certainly inside the Quad,” he mentioned.
“What the Quad arrangement gives us is another terrific opportunity to work multilaterally on all kinds of initiatives that can help create what we really want here, which is a free and open Indo Pacific region. And there’s a lot that goes into that, and not all of it has to do with China,” Kirby mentioned.
Recently, on September 25, Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his counterparts from Australia and Japan attended the initially in-particular person meeting of Quad leaders hosted by US President Joe Biden.
India, the US and quite a few other world powers have been speaking about the have to have to guarantee a free of charge, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China’s increasing military manoeuvring in the area.