“We have made clear that the US is not prepared to improve relations in a bilateral and separate context at the same time that a close and dear ally is being subjected to a form of economic coercion,”

“President Biden was very direct with Prime Minister Morrison that we stood together on this,” said Dr Campbell, the architect of the summit, who was in the room with Mr Biden during the meeting.

“So we’ve indicated both to Australia and China at the highest levels that we are fully aware of what’s going on and we are not prepared to take substantial steps to improve relations until those policies are addressed and a more normal interplay between Canberra and Beijing is established.”

“It’s almost an obvious statement of the role of allies and the importance of Australia that we are not going to leave Australia alone on the field,”

“It’s just not going to happen. I want to underscore this - that reality should not come as a surprise. This matter has been raised in every meeting [with Chinese officials] and it will be underscored in interactions in Anchorage later this week,” when the US secretaries of state and defence are scheduled to meet their Chinese counterparts in the first major face-to-face contact between the Biden administration and Beijing.

“I think there are other steps that economic officials will explore. It’s not simply Australia that has been the target of these undeclared kind of steps - we’ve seen it in the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan and others. This is a shared concern and one that I think is worthy of further dialogue.”

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미국이 쿼드 멤버인 호주를 수호하겠다는 의지를 분명히 전달했는데, 현재 바이든 정부의 인도태평양 전략의 실질적 총책임자이자 브레인인 커트 캠벨이 직접 언급한 사안이라 무게감이 상당합니다. 만약 2017년 미국이 이와 같은 지지를 한국에게도 보여주었다면 우리는 어쩌면 이미 쿼드에 가입했을 수도...다만 당시 미국은 이미 중국의 전승절에 참가한 박근혜 정부에 상당히 실망한 상태였고, 또 그 후임 정부에 대해서도 의구심이 있었으니...

한편 금번 쿼드 정상회담의 설계자가 커트 캠벨이라고 하는데, 한국도 그의 발언과 행보 일거수일투족을 봐야할 것입니다. 

또 한 가지 드는 생각은 쿼드에서 배제되면 이와 같은 보호(?) 혹은 연대(?)를 제공받지 못하는 게 아닌가 하는 우려입니다. 

정말 긴박하게 돌아가는 정세입니다.