Editor-DN
New Delhi:
The Quad, a strategic security group created to maintain peace, stability and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region, is facing a major challenge from an unofficial, unnamed alliance led by China. is confronting, especially after the history of events in recent months. to the latest Quad Summit in the United States and beyond.
The Quad, short for Quadrilateral, is a group consisting of India, the United States, Japan and Australia. The group was formed to maintain security and freedom of navigation in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The Quad was first established in 2007, but ceased to exist in 2008 following Australia’s withdrawal. The group was re-established in 2017 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, then US President Donald Trump, then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and then Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
China, which sees the grouping as a threat to its expansionist policies in the South China Sea, Indian Ocean and Pacific regions, is now leading an unofficial, unnamed group to counter the Quad. This group includes China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
Russia, which is facing isolation from the West, particularly the United States and most of Europe, over the war in Ukraine, finds itself in a situation where it is heavily dependent on China economically and for supplies of select weapons. is Iran and North Korea also find themselves under US sanctions and heavily dependent on China.
Beijing, which aims to replace the US as a global power, is leading its aggressive, aggressive and expansionist policies by taking advantage of allies that depend on it.
Here is a history of China-led provocations to send a message to the Quad: Message to the United States
China on September 25 launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from its mainland into the Pacific Ocean, the first such test since the 1980s. The launch came a few days after the annual Quad Leaders Summit in Delaware, USA. The ICBM can reportedly hit any location in the US in less than 30 minutes.
Beijing has dismissed the test incident – the first in 44 years – as “routine”.
China’s Ministry of National Defense or MND said, “The People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) launched an ICBM carrying a dummy warhead into the Pacific Ocean at 08:44 on the morning of September 25, and the missile landed in the expected sea areas. This test launch is in line with our annual training plan, and is not against any country or target.”
The missile hit the intended target near French Polynesia’s exclusive economic zone, not far from the Marquesas Islands. China sent its Yuan Wang 5 tracking ship near the landing site to collect data. New Zealand called the ICBM test “unwelcome and developmentally related”. The US Air Force also deployed an RC-135S Cobraball aircraft to collect optical and electronic data on the missile and its warhead.
The ICBM’s intended target was 12,000 km from the launch site. There is a distance of only 12,100 km between China’s Hainan Island and America’s Los Angeles. Therefore, China effectively demonstrated its ability to reach America with this type of nuclear weapon in less than 30 minutes. Beijing’s new DF-41 has an even longer range.
The latest provocative test comes at a time of heightened tensions with neighbors such as Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately tweeted, “The PLA’s first ICBM launch in 44 years exposes the regime’s expansionist ambitions and malice. Strongly condemns the PRC for its reckless actions destabilizing the Taiwan region.” and urges China to exercise restraint and halt all international peace efforts” It was more than a routine test. Taipei said that China was sending a signal, which was a scary one at that.
China has a 2009 agreement with Russia requiring each side to notify the other of ballistic missile launches, but so far China has rejected all proposals for a similar mechanism with the United States.
A message to Japan
On September 21 – the day the Quad Summit was held in the US – China began joint naval exercises in the Sea of Japan. “A joint contingent of warships from the Pacific Fleet and the Chinese Navy departed Vladivostok to conduct the joint Russian-Chinese naval exercise “Bebo/Interaction – 2024,” Russia’s Pacific Fleet said, adding That naval exercises will include anti-aircraft and anti-submarine warfare exercises.
Two days into joint naval exercises near Japan, Tokyo protested a major provocation by Moscow, when a Russian patrol plane entered Japan’s airspace – not once, not twice, but three times. “We have confirmed today that a Russian Il-38 patrol aircraft has violated our airspace over our territorial waters north of Rabin Island, Hokkaido, on three occasions,” Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said.
Japan shot down its F-35 fighter jets to warn the Russian military. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)
Japan had deployed its F-15 and F-35 fighter jets to alert the Russian military over the radio during the first two airspace violations. When the third incursion finally took place, the Japanese Air Force jets had to resort to flares. It even forced Tokyo to call Moscow through diplomatic channels to ensure that such provocations did not happen again. The Russian government has not commented on the airstrike.
A similar incident took place a month ago in August, when Japan had to shoot down its air force jets after Chinese military aircraft entered its airspace. Tokyo warned Beijing that it was a “serious violation of our sovereignty”.
Vladimir Putin said the joint China-Russia naval exercise was also “the largest of its kind in three decades”.
As a result of these China-backed provocations, Japan, Australia and New Zealand sent a strong message to Beijing when their ships passed through the Taiwan Strait. JS Sazanami’s, a destroyer of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and a nave ship each from Australia and New Zealand – HMAS Sydney (DDG 42) and HMNZS Endeavor (A11) – passed through the Taiwan Strait. It was the first such event by Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
China reportedly sent five of its warships close to the Australian and New Zealand ships and conducted surveillance activities.
Regarding the incident from Japan, Beijing issued a statement through its Foreign Office spokesperson, which said, “China’s response to the passage of the Japanese Maritime SDF vessel through the Taiwan Strait: The Taiwan question is a red flag. There is a line that should not be crossed. Respect his determination and be careful on this matter, and do not cause disruption to China-Japan relations and cross-strait peace.”
Challenges to freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean
China, Russia and Iran have also increased their cooperation and activities in West Asia (Middle East). Last year, Beijing brokered a deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran, highlighting its presence in the Middle East. Both Beijing and Moscow have also condemned the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, head of Iran-backed Hezbollah, in a stand against Israel.
Russia and Iran are reportedly negotiating terms for arming the Houthis in Yemen, who have been targeting merchant shipping in and around the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. However, reports suggest that they are not targeting Chinese and Russian ships. With the number of Houthi attacks increasing, this poses a major threat to freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean.
Flames and smoke billow from an oil tanker attacked by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea. (Photo: Reuters)
Iran-backed and Yemen-based Houthi terrorists have attacked and hijacked ships in the region for months, affecting global trade and maritime operations. The incidents come amid Israel’s ongoing war against Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah.
According to the US Maritime Administration, the Houthis have carried out more than 50 attacks on ships, resulting in casualties, the seizure of vessels and the disruption of global trade routes. The campaign has forced shipping firms to seek alternative routes, affecting about 12 percent of global trade that passes through the Red Sea.
The threat of North Korea
In the past few months, North Korea, which is reportedly backed by Beijing, has fired several ballistic missiles at the United States, Japan and South Korea.
It was believed that these missiles fell in the sea. The development comes after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a uranium enrichment facility in mid-September.
The US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement that it is aware of Pyongyang’s “ballistic missile launches” and is consulting closely with South Korea and Japan, as well as other regional allies and partners.
(Photo credit: Reuters)
“The United States condemns these actions and calls on the DPRK to desist from further illegal and destabilizing actions. While we have determined that this incident does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel, the region, or our allies, But there is no threat, we will continue to monitor the situation,” he said in a statement.
A New York Times report said that US President Joe Biden approved a secret document in March this year ordering US forces to prepare for a possible coordinated nuclear conflict with Russia, China and North Korea. had gone
Amid these developments, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said that Japan is facing its “most severe” regional security situation since WWII. “The security environment around our country is the most serious since the end of World War II,” he said in his first speech as prime minister last month.
