China has accused QUAD, the four-nation alliance of global economic powers of India, the US, Japan, and Australia should stop driving wedges between regional countries and accused the members, including India and US, of creating a bloc confrontation and having a “cold war mentality.”
Zhao Lijian, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said, “We oppose exclusive blocs to create bloc confrontation,” Lijian said while answering a question on the Foreign Ministers’ meeting of the Quad. We hope that the US and relevant countries can get a clear picture of the situation, feel relaxed, abandon the Cold War mentality, stop driving wedges between regional countries and contribute to regional peace, stability and prosperity,”.
The Quad was created to counter the aggression and is working to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence from China’s growing military presence in the strategic region.
On Friday (February 11), foreign ministers from the four countries will be participating in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue in Melbourne.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a statement said the meeting is an opportunity to follow up on their virtual meeting held in February last year and exchange views on regional strategic issues given their shared vision of a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.
However, this Quad meeting comes under the shadow of tension over Russia’s military build-up on the Ukrainian border and China openly threatening Taiwan.
Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs while speaking to reporters in Washington on February 4 said, “In this era of intense competition, changing strategic landscapes, economic coercion and, of course, this very difficult global pandemic, there is no greater global partnership than what we’re trying to accomplish through the Quad,”.
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