We need partnerships, alliances, coalitions more than ever before. We need countries that are willing to put their effort, their resources, and their minds into solving these problems, he stated.
The Quad meeting between Foreign Minister Marise Paayne, Mr Blinken and Japan’s Yoshimasahayashi will take place on Friday night. On Friday, the ministers will meet with Scott Morrison, Prime Minister of Australia, Mr Blinken, Japan’s Yoshimasa Hayashi and India’s Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. They will also hold bilateral meetings on Friday or Saturday.
Senator Payne stated that The Quad is a partnership of three of Australia’s most trusted friends and partners. They share a commitment for transparency and openness.
Frank discussion
On Thursday, Mr Hayashi stated that the Quad meeting would discuss cooperation in areas like vaccines, climate change and commercial technology.
He stated that despite the dire security situation in the Indo-Pacific region, he wanted to have a candid discussion about the regional situation.
Officials from Japan’s Foreign Ministry stated that the Quad agenda would be dominated by the standoff over Ukraine and repeated missile launches from North Korea.
These are the four largest countries [Japan, Australia, US and India]Now, they are expected to express their commitment to ensuring peace and stability as well as promoting and maintaining a free and open Pacific region. This is the main purpose of the meeting, said the official.
The Quad meeting in Melbourne also aims to prepare for the leaders summit in Japan, which is scheduled to take place in the first half of 2011. Although no date has been confirmed, reports suggest that it will take place in May.
Australian Ambassador Mr. Blinken opened his visit to Australia by speaking with students at Melbourne University, where his stepfather was a student after surviving the Holocaust.
Mr Blinken informed them that the Australian government’s support for the establishment of the first mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility in Melbourne in partnership to Moderna, a US pharmaceutical company, was a demonstration of the benefits of free societies coming together. This would have a ripple effect on the region.
A bipartisan parliamentary group recommended that Australia support Taiwan’s entry into the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (free trade pact). China is prohibited from joining until China stops its campaign of economic coercion, which targets more than $20 billion in exports.
The report, which was submitted by Parliament’s sub-committee of trade, stated that Australia should reconsider talks with Taiwan in order to negotiate a bilateral free trading agreement.
Ted OBrien, Liberal MP and chairman of the committee, said that China’s stance is in their hands.
It is up to China to decide if it wants to re-engage Australia. I hope so because it would allow the necessary discussions to determine if an accession process should be initiated.
Lithuania, which was granted permission by the Baltic nation to Taiwan to open a defacto embassy in Vilnius with the name of the Taiwanese Repo Office, is another country that has been affected by China’s weaponization of trade.
China escalated the conflict by suspending Lithuanian beef exports Wednesday. But, Gabrielius Landsbergis (Lithuanian Foreign Minister) declared that Thursday Lithuania is not backing down.
He claimed that Lithuania was being punished to discourage other countries boosting ties in the same manner with Taiwan, but predicted that this would backfire.
Mr Landsbergis stated that he wouldn’t be surprised if countries don’t give in to bullying during his two-day Canberra visit. Actually, I think there might actually be a different reaction than what the Chinese government expected.