US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has reprimanded the dragon (China) for using its economic power to increase its hegemony over the neighbouring countries in South Asia.
The threat posed by China resulted in Pompeo's trip to Japan this week wherein he discussed the simmering tensions with the trio of key Indo-Pacific allies, Australia, India, and Japan, which is a rare meeting in times of the coronavirus pandemic, reported Washington Examiner.
The US is trying to rally democratic allies to counter the threats posed by Beijing, who is simultaneously modernising its military might through espionage and reverse engineering (Intellectual Property theft).
Pompeo brought to the forum a denunciation of China's "exploitation, corruption, and coercion" of neighboring countries. He said, "This is for the soul of the world. This is about whether this will be a world that operates in this sense that we're on a rules-based international order system or one that's dominated by a coercive totalitarian regime like the one in China."
The Quad members have also reiterated their support to Pompeo. "If you look at the single thing that's driving all this, it's a sudden turn toward gross aggression by the Chinese government in its entire periphery," the senior State Department official said.
The development has made the Dragon anxious that the bloc would develop into a "mini-NATO," but US officials put an emphasis on other forms of cooperation, reported Washington Examiner.
Meanwhile, the ministerial revealed a consensus that the Quad should be broadened to include other democratic nations when possible. Such an expansion could change the perception of the Quad as "a military grouping".
"When one talks about security, one's talking about economic capacity and the rule of law, the ability to protect intellectual property, trade agreements, and diplomatic relationships. It's not just military. ... It's the kind of power that democracies have that authoritarian regime can never deliver on," told Pompeo.
The initiative will put an end to the economic coercion tactics of China and cooperation with Japan and other allies will checkmate Chinese development assistance and its hegemony in the region.
( With inputs from ANI )
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