Leaders of the Quartet, an informal alliance between Australia, India, Japan and the United States, criticized China, without naming it, during the G7 summit on Saturday in Hiroshima (Japan).
US President Joe Biden and the three other Quartet leaders did not explicitly mention China, but the Asian giant was the clear target of a statement calling for “peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific maritime region.”
“We strongly oppose destabilization or unilateral measures aimed at changing the status quo by force or coercion,” the statement said, in a veiled reference to the measures taken by China in this region of the world, which are considered sources of instability by these Western countries. .
“We express our deep concern about the militarization of disputed areas, the dangerous use of military or coast guard vessels and efforts to disrupt other countries’ maritime resource exploitation activities,” the text reads. referring to China for building bases on disputed reefs and harassing ships in waters claimed by Beijing, including in the South China Sea.
The leaders of the Quartet (the United States, Germany, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Italy) met on the sidelines of the G7 summit.
The Quartet countries also supported the development of infrastructure projects in the Asia-Pacific region, provided that they do not impose too heavy debts on the beneficiary countries, in another reference to the criticism leveled against development projects funded by China in Asia. or the Pacific Ocean.
Among the projects championed by the Quartet are developing submarine cable networks in the Indo-Pacific region or helping to combat illegal fishing.
The Quartet leaders also said they were “deeply concerned” by the crackdown by Myanmar’s ruling military junta, and condemned the missile launches and the continuation of North Korea’s nuclear program.
