US ropes in Quad allies to fight ‘two-front wars’ with China and Russia despite spent force

The sign is clearer than ever that the US is turning Quad into a tool to serve its own strategic goal of countering China and Russia simultaneously, observers said, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken brought the topic of the Ukraine crisis to the Friday meeting of Quad foreign ministers even though this group of US, Australia, Japan and India was formed for "Indo-Pacific" affairs and to target China. Chinese experts believe Washington is trying to declare it is determined to fight and can win on two fronts - China and Russia - at the same time to emphasize the US' hegemonic status and try its best to mobilize as many allies and partners as possible to serve this strategic goal amid anxiety over unprecedented China-Russia relations. On Thursday, US President Joe Biden urged Americans in Ukraine to leave immediately and warned "Things could go crazy quickly" in an interview with NBC. The remarks were interpreted by Chinese observers as another hype of a "Russian invasion" threat to persuade its allies to join actions against Russia. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne also said "Russian military build-up on Ukraine's border has deeply concerned Australia and our allies and partners" despite the fact that Australia, very isolated in the South Pacific, has little contact with Russia and no interest on the issue. The more the US wants to leave its own people and the world an impression that it can manage confrontations against China and Russia and maintain a US-led world order, the more embarrassing a situation it is in because its failures in domestic governance, in the democratic system, in overseas operations such as the Afghan withdrawal, are obvious to all. Sergey Biryukov, a professor at the Siberian Institute of Management in Novosibirsk of Russia, told the Global Times that as a result of their developing partnership, China and Russia have gained opportunities to contain the militarization of the region through the structures of Quad and AUKUS. Wills and realities. The US may woo Japan to stir up trouble for China as the two East Asian neighbors are having some difficulties in bilateral relations.