May 12. (EUROPE PRESS) –
Australia’s new ambassador to Japan, Justin Hayhurst, has warned this Friday that China’s actions in Taiwan are “destabilizing” and has called for increasing “international cooperation” to guarantee security in the region.
“Our position is very clear. Any conflict or use of violence to change the ‘status quo’ would be catastrophic,” he said during an interview with the Kiodo news agency.
His words come ahead of the summit between the leaders of the countries of the so-called Quad alliance –Australia, India, Japan and the United States– scheduled for this month. The group seeks to counter China’s growing influence in the region.
Hayhurst, who took office last month, has argued that “China’s actions are worrying, both in Taiwan and in the South China Sea,” especially after Beijing launched a series of exercises. military around the island after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing Wen met with the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, during a visit to the North American country.
For the ambassador, it is of vital importance to “support and defend peace and stability and avoid as much as possible any conflict and aggression” in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Quad summit is scheduled to take place on May 24 in the Australian city of Sydney after the G7 leaders’ meeting next week in Hiroshima.
