Former Australian PM Morrison Calls for Stronger Cooperation in Quad in Tokyo Speech; China’s Hegemonic Behavior in Mind

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:07 JST, September 27, 2024

Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison emphasized the need for stronger collaboration within the Quad — a framework for security cooperation between Japan, the United States, Australia and India — in response to China’s increasingly hegemonic behavior in a speech delivered in Tokyo on Thursday.

At the lecture meeting organized by the Yomiuri International Economic Society (YIES) on Thursday, Morrison emphasized the importance of the Quad as a deterrent against authoritarian countries such as China and Russia.

“The mere fact that the Quad leaders’ dialogue provides the opportunity for regular, unscripted engagement and real-time collective assessment by leaders on regional security and economic challenges has a value all of itself,” Morrison said.

In the field of economic security, Morrison cited Sri Lanka and Cambodia, where China is promoting investment, and called for more coordination among the Quad countries.

“Quad members can either get involved and contest economically in these strategic locations or surrender the ground to our rivals,” Morrison said.

The event included a discussion between Morrison and YIES Chairman Shigeru Kitamura, former secretary general of the National Security Secretariat.

When asked by Kitamura about the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election and the next Japanese prime minister, Morrison said, “Japan has the real ability to direct and be a bit of a custodian of the integrity and path of the Quad.” He added that he hopes “Japan’s outreach and leadership globally in the Indo Pacific” continues.

Morrison served as Australia’s prime minister from 2018 to 2022 and took a hard-line stance toward China.