The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad will on Thursday hold its first ministerial meeting since the Biden administration assumed office in the US to discuss practical cooperation for maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
This will be the third meeting of the foreign ministers of the group that includes India, Australia, Japan and the US, and it is being held less than five months after the last meeting in Tokyo in October, signalling the Biden administration’s commitment to the Quad as a key formation in the Indo-Pacific.
The virtual meeting will “provide an opportunity to continue the useful exchange of views from their last meeting in Tokyo” on October 6, 2020, the external affairs ministry said in a brief statement.
The foreign ministers will “exchange views on regional and global issues especially practical areas of cooperation towards maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region”, the statement said.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar, Australian foreign minister Marise Payne, Japanese foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi and US secretary of state Antony Blinken will also discuss efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, addressing global climate change and other issues of mutual interest, the statement said.
There had been speculation in some quarters on whether India would continue to work closely with the Quad following progress in its efforts aimed at disengagement with Chinese forces in Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
After several rounds of diplomatic and military talks, India and China have agreed on disengagement on the northern and southern banks of Pangong Lake, one of the friction points in Ladakh sector.
US state department spokesperson Ned Price told a news briefing on Thursday that the Quad is “critical to advancing our shared goals of a free and open Indo-Pacific and rising to the defining challenges of our time, including coordinating our efforts on Covid-19 response as well as climate change”.
A statement from Japan’s foreign ministry said the four ministers will hold “wide-ranging discussions to advance practical cooperation” for a “free and open Indo-Pacific” and also discuss regional issues.
Australia’s foreign ministry described the Quad as a “key pillar” of the country’s international agenda that complements other regional and multilateral engagement, including with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
“This dialogue will allow our nations to advance our shared interest in a secure and prosperous region. The Quad’s positive agenda will enable us to progress cooperation among four Indo-Pacific democracies across a range of areas, including to support the region recover from the economic and health impacts of Covid-19,” it said in a statement.
At the last Quad ministerial meeting in October, the group pushed for a rules-based global order and peaceful resolution of disputes in the face of China’s growing aggression across the Indo-Pacific.
Then US secretary of state Mike Pompeo had also indicated at the time of the meeting that Washington wanted to formalise and expand the informal group.
While addressing the Quad meeting in Tokyo, Jaishankar said India and the other members of the group remain committed to a rules-based international order, “underpinned by the rule of law, transparency, freedom of navigation in the international seas, respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, and peaceful resolution of disputes”.
The Quad was upgraded to the ministerial level in September 2019. Recent reports have suggested the Biden administration too is keen on further upgrading the Quad by organising a meeting of leaders of the four countries.
Chinese officials have likened the group to a “mini NATO” and said its activities are aimed at targeting third parties.
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