Tokyo [Japan], July 29 : Foreign ministers of Quad countries- Australia, India, Japan and the US – on Monday reaffirmed that India will host the Summit later this year.
“We look forward to India hosting the next Quad Leaders’ Summit later this year, and to the United States hosting the next Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting in 2025,” a joint statement after the meeting held in Tokyo said. External affairs minister S Jaishankar, Japan’s foreign minister Yoko Kamikawa, Australia’s foreign affairs minister Penny Wong and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken participated in the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting held on July 29 in Tokyo.
In a White House briefing held on July 25, US National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby responding to a reporter’s question about President Joe Biden attending the Quad Summit being hosted by India later this year said, “We’re still committed to there being a Quad leaders’ summit this year. But there’s nothing on the calendar right now for it.”
Notably, the US presidential elections are scheduled to be held in November this year.
Biden had been instrumental in bringing together his counterparts of the Quad for a meeting in March 2021 that was held online due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The US President raised the level of the summits of the four-nation grouping to include national leaders instead of just meetings of foreign ministers.
On 24 September 2021, the White House then hosted the first in-person Quad summit and since then the Quad countries have been holding on rotation basis an annual summit. India is scheduled to hold the next summit this year.
Amid China’s coercive pressure on Taiwan in the wake of the Lai Ching-te winning the Presidential polls of the self-governed island and following tensions between China and Phillippines, the Quad foreign ministers on Monday said they were “seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas” and reiterated their “strong opposition to any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion.” “We continue to express our serious concern about the militarization of disputed features, and coercive and intimidating manoeuvres in the South China Sea,” the joint statement issued after the meeting of the top diplomats of the Quad countries read.
They also listed out their concerns on the increasing use of various kinds of dangerous” tactics, and “efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation activities.”
The four countries said they intend to launch a “Quad maritime legal dialogue” under the Quad Maritime Security Working Group to “focus expertise on international law of the sea issues in support of our efforts to uphold the rules-based maritime order in the Indo-Pacific.”
The Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting joint statement issued on July 29 said that the countries of the bloc were collectively advancing a positive and practical agenda to support the Indo-Pacific region’s sustainable development, stability, and prosperity, responding to the region’s needs. The statement said that they contribute to a region in which all countries and people can exercise free choice on how they cooperate, and trade based on partnership, equality and mutual respect.
Through Quad, the countries are supporting the region through practical cooperation on challenges such as maritime security, critical and emerging technologies, cyber security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, health security, climate change, counterterrorism, infrastructure and connectivity, and addressing the debt crisis through sustainable, transparent and fair lending and financing practices. The countries will cooperate with regional partners to address shared challenges in the region, the statement read.
The joint statement also said that the Quad countries reaffirm their conviction that international law, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the maintenance of peace, safety, security and stability in the maritime domain underpin the development and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific.
They pledged adherence to international law, particularly as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to address challenges to the global maritime rules-based order, including with respect to maritime claims, and in the South and East China Seas.
The countries affirmed that maritime disputes must be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law, as reflected in United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The countries emphasized the importance of maintaining and upholding freedom of navigation and overflight, other lawful uses of sea, and unimpeded commerce consistent with international law. They also emphasized the universal and unified character of UNCLOS and reaffirmed that UNCLOS sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and the seas must be carried out.
They said that the award rendered by the Arbitral Tribunal on July 12, 2016, is a significant milestone, and the basis for peacefully resolving disputes between the parties.
The joint statement said that the Quad countries reaffirmed commitment, common principles, and capacities to preserve and strengthen the international order for the global good.
They discussed and deliberated on these shared challenges, and present respective visions for stability and prosperity together with other countries in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond, and our plans for the Quad to provide tangible benefits for the region.
They reaffirmed the Quad’s steadfast commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, which is inclusive and resilient, and united in their commitment to upholding the free and open rules-based international order, with its strong support for the principle of freedom, human rights, rule of law, democratic values, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and peaceful settlement of disputes and prohibition on the threat or use of force in accordance with the UN Charter.
The ministers said that all countries have a role in contributing to regional peace, stability, and prosperity, while seeking a region in which no country dominates and no country is dominated, competition is managed responsibly, and each country is free from coercion in all its forms and can exercise its agency to determine its own future. They emphasised the importance of all countries working to take practical measures to reduce the risks of misunderstanding and miscalculation.
The joint statement welcomed the finalization of the Quad Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), which enable an effective, immediate and coordinated response mechanism between Quad partners. “We look forward to further strengthening our coordination to provide practical support for regional partners in times of disasters. The next annual meeting and tabletop exercise will be held in Japan, which will continue to enhance Quad HADR cooperation and collaboration,” the staement read.
External Affairs Minster Jaishankar addressing a press conference after the Quad meeting said that the Quad “is not a talk shop but a platform that generates practical outcomes.”
“For example, our HADR conversations are reflected in understandings and SOPs between our Navies. The Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness initiative that came out of Quad today links information fusion centres. The Open-RAN network, that we have spoken about so much, is being deployed in Palau. A space-based climate warning system will be launched soon in Mauritius. Off-grid solar projects are actually happening in Indo-Pacific islands. During Covid, we cooperated to deliver vaccines to countries in this region. And the first cohort of Quad STEM fellowships is passing out and the second one will also cover the ASEAN,” Jaishnakar said.
The Quad ministers voiced support for an open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific underpinned by effective regional institutions. They reaffirmed n unwavering support for ASEAN’s unity and centrality, and the ASEAN-led regional architecture – including the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum.
They supported practical implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and said they would enhance respective cooperation with ASEAN.
The Quad countries said they respected Pacific-led regional architecture, foremost the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), and are strongly committed to supporting Pacific island countries in line with the objectives of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. They are also strengthening practical cooperation in the Indian Ocean, including through steadfast support for the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) as the region’s premier organization for addressing the region’s most pressing and important challenges and the implementation of IORA’s Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.