Reuters: The Quad summit faces obstacles, bilateral frictions may dilute the anti-China theme
Reuters, July 1. U.S. Secretary of State Rubio met with Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi in Washington today, aiming to coordinate the four countries (Quad) to respond to China's influence. However, bilateral frictions between the United States and its partner countries cast a shadow over this meeting. The Trump administration's global tariff campaign has affected all Quad members, causing trade tensions. Japan postponed its scheduled annual U.S.-Japan defense and foreign ministers' (2+2) meeting on the same day, reportedly due to pressure from the U.S. to significantly increase defense spending. The AUKUS nuclear submarine cooperation project worth 36.8 billion Australian dollars has also caused anxiety for Australia after the U.S. initiated an investigation. India also disagreed with Trump's claim that he intervened to resolve the India-Pakistan conflict. Experts analyze that these differences may divert the meeting's focus from countering China. Nicholas Szechenyi, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said since the U.S.-Japan summit in February declared a "golden age," "there is currently no achievement to show," and trade negotiations have consumed energy, while the U.S. publicly demanding Japan to increase military spending has made it "annoying." Richard Rossow, CSIS expert on India, believes the Trump administration's handling of India on trade and security interests is "clumsy." Despite Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar emphasizing that "issues are inevitable in relations, the key is to maintain a positive trend," bilateral differences are testing the Quad's ability to coordinate against China.
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