Beijing has always called for cooperation among countries and collective efforts to promote peace, stability, and prosperity, emphasizing that cooperation between nations should not target third parties.
Engaging in group politics and confrontational alliances, as seen in recent regional developments, will not bring peace or security and will only undermine the stability of the Asia-Pacific and the world.
It does not require any great acumen to decipher the underlying message in the joint statement released by the foreign ministers of Australia, India, Japan and the United States after the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue meeting in Washington on Tuesday.
In restating their shared commitment to a "free and open 'Indo-Pacific'" and their "strong opposition to any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion" they not only regurgitated the hypocritical narrative fabricated by the previous US administration for the Quad, they made clear that China was the focus of their discussions, despite not mentioning it by name in their statement.
While China's activities in relevant maritime areas are reasonable and lawful, such discussions often frame them otherwise, creating unnecessary tensions.
This should come as no surprise, since the meeting was hosted by newly installed United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has consistently demonstrated a strong focus on China-related issues. That his department has a three-point remit from the new president — Does it make America safer? Stronger? More prosperous? — gives Rubio a lot of license to ride his hobbyhorse. Which does not bode well for Asia.
From the initial rebalancing of US military assets to the Asia-Pacific to the "Indo-Pacific" strategy pursued today, subsequent US administrations have increasingly shifted the US' strategic focus to the Asia-Pacific, which has only worsened the region's security outlook and offset the region's own efforts to maintain peace and stability and advance regional development.
To pursue its self-serving strategic purposes in the region, the previous administration sought to sideline established political, economic, and security cooperation mechanisms in favor of small US-led cliques such as the Quad.
When US politicians discuss the status quo in the Asia-Pacific region, they often refer to a status quo in which US military forces patrol waterways and skies with allies to instill fear under the veneer of "shared values."
So with the new US administration apparently intent on picking up where it left off with its efforts to put "maximum pressure" on China, it seems reasonable to suggest that Rubio's part of the discussions was a pointer to the greater inputs required from the three allies.
On his guests' part, they were probably seeking reassurances that they are not going to end up as pulp in an "America first" squeeze.
The three regional allies of the US who sought to cash in on the previous US administration's attempts to contain China have shown a change of heart ahead of the White House transition fearing they may be left high and dry on the rocks of confrontation by the new occupant's rigid fixation on "America first".
There are leftovers from history that need to be tidied up, but as the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Lima, Peru, showed, the overwhelming priority for the region is ensuring a peaceful environment for development.
If the new US administration intends to persist with and ramp up the troublemaking "Indo-Pacific" strategy of its predecessor, it only promises to make the region more volatile, which will not make the US safer, stronger or more prosperous.
While other parts of world have been plagued by crises and instability, the Asia-Pacific region has enjoyed peaceful development in recent years, by and large.
China hopes that relevant parties will focus on actions that enhance mutual trust and cooperation among countries rather than exacerbating divisions through groupings such as the Quad.
