U.S., Australia, India and Japan to address China's dominance, Russian aggression

U.S., Australia, India and Japan to address China's dominance, Russian aggression¹

Transcript²

President Biden has met the leaders of Australia, India and Japan. The White House said they would pledge to work together on global health, the climate, infrastructure³, technology and other areas.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Leaders of four nations with a shared interest in containing China met today. They are the U.S., Australia, India and Japan. They are known together as the Quad⁴. And as they met, they also focused on China's strategic partner, Russia. Here's President Biden speaking today in Tokyo.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: We're navigating⁵ a dark hour in our shared history. The Russian brutal⁶ and unprovoked war against Ukraine has triggered a humanitarian⁷ catastrophe⁸. And innocent civilians⁹ they've killed in the streets and millions of refugees are internally displaced, as well as exiled. And this is more than just a European issue. It's a global issue.

INSKEEP: Which is why Biden was discussing it with leaders in Asia. Let's talk this through with NPR's John, which. He is in Shenzhen in southern China. And, of course, China must watch these meetings very closely. Hey there, John.

JOHN RUWITCH, BYLINE¹⁰: Good morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: I guess we could say the Quad, to some extent, is all about China. Is that fair?

RUWITCH: (Laughter) To some extent, it is. You know, the Quad is - the formal name is the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. It was established in 2004 after the earthquake and tsunami¹¹ in Southeast Asia as a way to get aid there in a coordinated¹² way, formalized three years later, kind of dropped off the map after that. And then President Trump¹³ resurrected it. And since then, it's really picked up steam under Biden. The group's not a formal alliance, but it's becoming more prominent. It's met four times since he became president. And, yeah, the big driver is growing concern about China. And it jibes¹⁴ quite well with Biden's foreign policy focus on China as a threat and competitor and his effort to rally friends and allies to the cause.

INSKEEP: And, of course, if you add the allies to the United States, its economic power would be overwhelming compared even with China's. But how did concern about China express itself at this meeting?

RUWITCH: Well, it was a bit indirect. I mean, the Russian invasion of Ukraine was flagged at this meeting by Trump and others as a cautionary tale for Asia, really. You know, as we heard Biden say at the top, it's more than a European issue. It's a global issue. And Japan's prime minister went further. And he said, you know, we cannot let the same thing, like an invasion of Ukraine, happen in the Indo-Pacific. He didn't name names. But, you know, many see parallels between Ukraine and Taiwan, right? Taiwan is a self-governing democracy. But Beijing considers it part of China and has really ramped¹⁵ up rhetoric¹⁶ and military exercises around the island. It wants to bring Taiwan back into the fold peacefully, but hasn't renounced¹⁷ the use of force to do so if it needs to. So there's this thread hanging out there.

INSKEEP: Can you just clean up some remarks for us here or at least explain some remarks? President Biden said, yes, yesterday, when asked if he would get involved militarily in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan. That is a lot less ambiguous than the U.S. normally is. But has the U.S. changed its policy?

RUWITCH: Well, Biden, again, you know, today - he said this yesterday. And again today, he said, no, the policy on Taiwan has not changed, you know, including strategic ambiguity¹⁸, which is a part of the approach to the way they've dealt with this question of whether or not they would defend Taiwan. As far as Beijing's concerned, the mixed messages are kind of moot¹⁹. I asked Alexander Huang about this. He's a security expert who teaches at Tamkang University outside of Taipei.

ALEXANDER HUANG: In any future Taiwan scenario²⁰, we are assured, from Beijing's eyes, that the United States will get itself involved. So I would bet that in all military drills and military exercises, the U.S. intervention²¹ is in their playbook.

RUWITCH: You know, the reality is that Washington has been deepening its ties with partners across the Asia Pacific, like the Quad nations and like Taiwan. And ties with Beijing, at the same time, have just gotten frostier and frostier.

INSKEEP: NPR's John Ruwitch, thanks.

RUWITCH: Thanks a lot.

1 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

4 quad   

n.四方院；四胞胎之一；v.在…填补空铅

参考例句：

• His rooms were on the left-hand side of the quad.他的房间位于四方院的左侧。
• She is a 34-year-old mother of quads.她是个生了四胞胎的34岁的母亲。

5 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

6 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

7 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

8 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

9 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

10 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

11 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

12 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

13 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

14 jibes   

n.与…一致( jibe的名词复数 )；（与…）相符；相匹配v.与…一致( jibe的第三人称单数 )；（与…）相符；相匹配

参考例句：

• He made several cheap jibes at his opponent during the interview. 在采访中他好几次对他的对手粗俗地加以嘲讽。
• The report jibes with the facts. 报告与事实相符。 来自辞典例句

15 ramped   

土堤斜坡( ramp的过去式和过去分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯

参考例句：

• With the arrival of George Lucas, the pace has ramped up. 随着乔治·卢卡斯的到来，速度大大加快。
• They also sold corporate bonds as the global financial crisis ramped up. 在全球金融危机加剧之际，他们还抛售了公司债券。

16 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

17 renounced   

v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃

参考例句：

• We have renounced the use of force to settle our disputes. 我们已再次宣布放弃使用武力来解决争端。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Andrew renounced his claim to the property. 安德鲁放弃了财产的所有权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 ambiguity   

n.模棱两可；意义不明确

参考例句：

• The telegram was misunderstood because of its ambiguity.由于电文意义不明确而造成了误解。
• Her answer was above all ambiguity.她的回答毫不含糊。

19 moot   

v.提出；adj.未决议的；n.大会；辩论会

参考例句：

• The question mooted in the board meeting is still a moot point.那个在董事会上提出讨论的问题仍未决的。
• The oil versus nuclear equation is largely moot.石油和核能之间的关系还很有争议。

20 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

21 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。