Japan, Australia, US and India set to launch joint sea patrols to keep China in check

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

The US, Japan, Australia, and India plan to conduct joint patrols in the Indo-Pacific to monitor vessels in the waters where they accuse China of displaying dominance and aggression.

The patrols by the coast guards of the four countries, bound in an alliance called the Quad, are also aimed at combating illegal fishing in these waters, Japan’s Kyodo News reported citing diplomatic sources.

A joint statement detailing the plan is expected to be released on Saturday in Delaware, US president Joe Biden’s hometown where he is hosting Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida, Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese, and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi for a Quad summit.

The White House said Mr Biden is hosting the leaders in Wilmington as a “reflection of his deep personal relationships with each of the Quad leaders and the importance of the Quad to all of our countries”.

The summit, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “will focus on bolstering the strategic convergence among our countries, advancing our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region and delivering concrete benefits for partners in the Indo-Pacific in key areas”.

The joint patrols by vessels of the Quad coast guards will focus on the South China Sea and its surrounding waters where competing claims of sovereignty have led to a conflict between China and its neighbours like Taiwan and the Philippines. The Chinese coast guard has lately used force to keep Philipine vessels away from South China Sea shoals which both countries lay claim to.

Beijing claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea. Its claims overlap with those of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

The patrols, to be conducted on a rotational basis, are expected to begin next year.

This is the final Quad meeting for Mr Biden and Mr Kishida who are leaving offices at the end of their current terms. The Delaware summit is thus also aimed at preparing for the next leaders of the US and Japan.

Initially formed to coordinate humanitarian aid and assistance in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the Quad was resurrected in 2017 as a strategic alliance to counter a rapidly rising China.

The four countries have indicated in the past they faced a threat from China, although the language used to describe the threat is tempered in public pronouncements.

While India and China have engaged in confrontations along their Himalayan border, China and Japan are in a running dispute over territorial claims in the East China Sea.