Dear Friends,
This is Sangeeta Saxena getting you the podcast from the QUAD foreign ministers’ meet on the side lines of the G-20 foreign ministers meet in Delhi.
The Foreign Ministers of Australia, India and Japan and the Secretary of State of the United States of America met in New Delhi, India on 03 March 2023, today, for the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. This meeting today reaffirms the Quad’s steadfast commitment to supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific, which is inclusive and resilient. These ministers reiterated that they strongly support the principles of freedom, rule of law, sovereignty and territorial integrity, peaceful settlement of disputes without resorting to threat or use of force and freedom of navigation and overflight, and oppose any unilateral attempt to change the status quo, all of which are essential to the peace, stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
They stated that their conviction that the Quad, acting as a force for regional and global good, will be guided by the priorities of the Indo-Pacific region through its positive and constructive agenda continues. Through the QUAD, the four nations seek to support the region through practical cooperation on contemporary challenges such as health security, climate change and the clean energy transition, critical and emerging technologies, infrastructure and connectivity, addressing the debt crisis through sustainable, transparent and fair lending and financing practices, space cooperation, cyber-security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), maritime security and counter-terrorism.
Reaffirming their consistent and unwavering support for ASEAN centrality and unity, and the ASEAN-led architecture- including the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum-theye remain committed to supporting implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and will be guided in their work by ASEAN’s principles and priorities.
They welcome Indonesia’s 2023 ASEAN Chairmanship and will support its Chair theme “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth”, as they identify tangible areas for the Quad to support the work of ASEAN. In addition, they are committed to further strengthening their respective relationships with ASEAN, thus creating a platform for greater Quad collaboration in support of the AOIP.
The QUAD is committed to supporting Pacific Island countries in line with the objectives of the Pacific Islands Forum’s 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, guided by Pacific priorities of climate change, resilient infrastructure and maritime security. They support regional institutions in the Pacific and are also further strengthening their cooperation with the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), to address the region’s most pressing and important challenges. They welcomed India’s leadership in finalising the IORA Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.
The joint statement said and I quote, “we are pleased to note the progress made under the Quad Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Partnership (HADR) for the Indo-Pacific, since our last meeting in September 2022, when we signed the Guidelines for the Partnership. We welcome the outcomes of the first HADR tabletop exercise and biannual meeting held in India in December 2022. We look forward to the finalization of the Partnership’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) which would enable an efficacious and coordinated response mechanism. We concur that the rules-based international order is anchored in international law, including the UN Charter, and the principles of sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity of all states. We are committed to cooperate to address attempts to unilaterally subvert the UN and international system, in consultation with our partners and through multilateral and international platforms. We reiterate our unwavering support for the UN Charter, including its three pillars, and our steadfast commitment to strengthening the UN and international system through a comprehensive reform agenda, including through expansion in permanent and non-permanent seats of the UN Security Council. In this regard, we commit to active and constructive engagement in the Inter-Governmental Negotiations (IGN) process on Security Council Reforms with an overall objective of making the UN Security Council more effective, representative, and credible.”
They added , “We will support meritorious and independent candidates for elections in the UN and in international forums to maintain the integrity and impartiality of the international system. We note with appreciation the UN Secretary General’s call for full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this regard, we underscore the importance of achieving SDGs in a comprehensive manner without prioritizing a narrow set of such goals, and reaffirm that the UN has a central role in supporting countries in its implementation.”
They recognized that peace and security in the maritime domain underpins the development and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific, and reiterate the importance of respect for sovereignty, consistent with international law. The foursome reiterated the importance of adherence to international law, as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to meet challenges to the maritime rules-based order, including in the South and East China Seas. They strongly oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo or increase tensions in the area. They expressed serious concern at the militarization of disputed features, the dangerous use of coast guard vessels and maritime militia, and efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation activities.
QUAD is determined to deepen engagement with regional partners, including through information-sharing, capacity-building and technical assistance, to strengthen maritime domain awareness; counter illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; enhance their capability to protect and develop offshore resources, consistent with UNCLOS; ensure freedom of navigation and overflight; and promote the safety and security of sea lines of communication. It looks forward to continuing these discussions at the Quad Maritime Security Working Group meeting hosted by the United States in Washington DC in March 2023. In this context, they welcome the progress made under the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA).
This is they first in the series of podcast on QUAD ADU will be getting to you. So bye till the next one.
