Only Quad Can Ensure Freedom, Stability And Security In Indo-Pacific: Jaishankar In Tokyo

Underlining the importance of the Quad, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Monday that it is the collaboration among this four-nation grouping that can ensure the Indo-Pacific region remains free, open, stable, and secure.

Delivering his opening statement at the Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting in Tokyo, Jaishankar said the Quad’s commitment to doing global good has a resonance far beyond the region. “It is only our collaboration that can ensure that the Indo-Pacific remains free, remains open, stable, secure, prosperous,” he said.

“It is therefore essential that our political understanding strengthens our economic partnerships grow and 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 grow,” he said.

In November 2017, India, Japan, the US, and Australia gave shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the Quad to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence. Foreign ministers from Quad nation met in Tokyo for talks expected to focus on maritime security and initiatives to build up cyber defences.

The Quad talks in the Japanese capital, the first since September, include Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, and Australia’s top diplomat Penny Wong. Japanese media reported that the ministers will jointly pledge to improve the Philippines’ cybersecurity capacity and help Palau build communications network infrastructure. They will also provide help to other nations in maritime policing and search-and-rescue.

Manila is locked in a longstanding territorial row with Beijing over parts of the South China Sea — a strategic waterway through which trillions of dollars’ worth of trade passes annually. Violent clashes in the area have sparked concern that Manila’s ally Washington could be drawn into a conflict as Beijing steps up efforts to push its claims to almost the entire South China Sea.

(With agency inputs)