QUAD TO EXPAND COOPERATION IN INDOPACIFIC
NEW DELHI: India and the other members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, aka Quad, agreed on Thursday to expand their cooperation to promote a free, rules-based and inclusive order in the Indo-pacific region by including other countries and forums.
This was the third consultative meeting of the informal strategic group comprising Australia, India, Japan and the US since it was revived on the margins of the Asean Summit in the Philippines in November last year as a counterbalance to China’s growing presence in the region.
Senior officials of the Quad held the latest meeting in Singapore, also the venue of the second meet in June.
“The participants reaffirmed the Asean centrality as the cornerstone of a free, open and inclusive Indo-pacific,” said a statement from the external affairs ministry.
“They agreed to partner with other countries and forums in the region to promote a free, open, rules-based and inclusive order in the Indo-pacific that fosters trust and confidence,” it added.
The consultations between the external affairs ministry officials and their counterparts from the three other countries, the statement said, focused on regional and global issues of common interest as well as recent developments in the region.
The four countries discussed cooperation in connectivity, sustainable development, counterterrorism, non-proliferation and maritime and cyber security “with a view to promoting peace, stability and prosperity in an increasingly inter-connected Indo-pacific region that the four countries share with each other and with other partners,” the statement added.
In an apparent reference to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which is facing a pushback in parts of Asia and Africa due to concerns over sovereignty and debt traps, the statement said members of the Quad were committed to “strengthening connectivity and quality infrastructure based on sovereignty, equality and territorial integrity of all nations, as well as transparency, economic viability and financial responsibility.”
Separate statements issued by the US state department and the foreign ministry of Japan said the four sides “highlighted the complementary visions for the region”, grounded in a “shared support for a free, open, and inclusive region that fosters universal respect for international law, freedom of navigation and overflight, and sustainable development.” A statement issued by the Australian foreign ministry also referred to an “inclusive region in which international law, freedom of navigation and overflight and the rights of all states are respected.”
The US also referred to the importance of coordinated engagement to advance shared regional interests, “including support for the new Maldivian government and encouragement of an outcome to political developments in Sri Lanka consistent with democratic principles.”
Former Indian Navy chief, Admiral Arun Prakash, said the latest move by the Quad appeared to be in line with the “inclusive” approach Prime Minister Narendra Modi had referred to in his speech at the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore in June.
“Most countries have noted that China has been taking umbrage at the Quad and this appears to be an attempt to water things down and make the group less threatening,” he said. “Of the four members of the Quad, India is the only one that shares borders with China, and even Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe recently visited China and had a good meeting with President Xi Jinping.”