Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar has called for strengthening of economic partnership, political understanding and technological collaborations between the Quad countries–Australia, India, Japan and the US. He said a clear message should be sent across that the bloc is “here to stay”.
“It is only our collaboration that can ensure that the Indo-Pacific remains free, remains open, stable, secure and prosperous. The commitment to doing global good that we have all undertaken has a resonance far beyond this region,” Jaishankar said at the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Tokyo on Monday.
The meeting was also attended by Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa. Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Penny Wong and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Joint declaration
Without naming China, which has been trying to establish greater control over the South China Sea by taking on neighbours, including Vietnam and the Philippines, the joint declaration following the meeting announced the intention to launch a Quad Maritime Legal Dialogue under the Quad Maritime Security Working Group to focus 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, which had its first formal summit in 2021, is seen as a counterweight to China’s growing influence and dominance in the Indo Pacific region and its military aggression in the South China.
Jaishankar pointed out that times were not easy and a major challenge was to ensure global economic growth, while also de-risking it.
“Supply chains are a particular focus for resilience, just as we push for trusted and transparent digital partnerships. The march of technology has also acquired extraordinary proportions, holding possibilities of the very manner in which we live, think and act,” he said.
While the world seemed to be in the midst of a re-globalisation, only collective endeavours could proof the international system against disruptions, man-made or natural, he added
As political democracies, pluralistic societies and market economies, the Quad nations had significant additional responsibilities to keep the Indo-Pacific region free, secure and prosperous.
“It is therefore essential that our political understanding strengthens, our economic partnerships grow, our technology collaborations expand and our people-to-people comfort intensifies. Our meeting should send a clear message, that the Quad is here to stay, here to do and here to go,” Jaishankar said.