New Delhi: The third in-person Quad Summit held Saturday in the historic city of Hiroshima, Japan, laid out an expansive agenda in a strong signal to China but again not explicitly naming the country in the leaders joint statement. All four leaders of the member countries vowed to take it to the next level from setting up an undersea cable, to critical supply chains and to countering terrorism.
The Quad Summit, which was earlier scheduled to take place in Australia, was held on the margins of the G7 meeting. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced at the meeting that India will host the next in-person Quad Summit in 2024. The Summit venue changed to Japan due to US President Joe Biden’s change of itinerary as he had to be back home to attend debt crisis talks.
The Quad countries are the US, India, Japan and Australia.
“As Indo-Pacific countries, Quad partners are deeply invested in our region’s success. Harnessing our collective strengths and resources, we are supporting the region’s development, stability, and prosperity through the Quad’s positive, practical agenda. Our work is guided by regional countries’ priorities and responds to the region’s needs. We are and will continue to be transparent in what we do,” a joint statement issued by the four nations said.
It categorically mentioned some of the regional groupings to the “at the centre” of Quad such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).
Putting greater emphasis on connectivity, the Quad leaders agreed on an ambitious project to set up undersea cable networks in the Indo-Pacific under a new initiative called the ‘Quad Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience’.
“The Partnership will strengthen cable systems in the Indo-Pacific, drawing on Quad countries’ world-class expertise in manufacturing, delivering and maintaining cable infrastructure,” the statement said.
Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia, said in his opening remarks: “Through the Quad, a positive and practical agenda, we are taking action to address shared challenges. Together we are leveraging our collective strengths.”
‘Strongly Oppose Destabilising Or Unilateral Actions’
Modi reiterated that the Indo-Pacific strategic construct is critical not just for the region but also for the whole world.
“We are moving ahead with a constructive agenda based on shared democratic values,” he said.
In this aspect, the leaders jointly called out countries that seek to alter the status quo.
“We remain fully resolved to uphold peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific maritime domain. We strongly oppose destabilising or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion,” the statement said.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who was the host, said the “free and open” international order based on rule of law is now “under threat”.
Pacific Islands Find A Mention After Their China Tilt
US President Joe Biden sought to bring the Pacific Islands under the ambit of Quad, an effort that the leaders had previously ignored. This is happening now due to the Pacific Islands growing ties with China which is seeking to militarize the South Pacific.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will be visiting Papua New Guinea (PNG) in an effort to bolster ties with the Pacific Islands.
PM Modi will next be visiting PNG to jointly host the 3rd Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation and hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister James Marape to strengthen ties.