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Quad Reaffirms Support To Free, Open Indo-Pacific

By LokMarg 3rd March 2023

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) reaffirmed its steadfast commitment to supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific and strongly supported the peaceful settlement of disputes without resorting to threats or use of force and freedom of navigation and overflight.

The Quad Foreign Ministers carried out a comprehensive review of various issues, ranging from indo-pacific to ASEAN. The meeting was presided by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi and US State Department Secretary Antony Blinken.
“Our meeting today reaffirms the Quad’s steadfast commitment to supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific, which is inclusive and resilient. We 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,” according to the statement released by Quad.

These statements came against the backdrop of growing China’s assertiveness in the region.

In the meeting, Foreign Ministers said the Quad, 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.

Quad Foreign ministers sought support in 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. The Foreign ministers also addressed the debt crisis, space cooperation, cyber-security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), maritime security and counter-terrorism.

Talking about the reforms in United Nations Security Council, Quad said they reiterated their unwavering support for the UN Charter, including the expansion of permanent and non-permanent seats of the international organisation.

“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 cooperating to address attempts to unilaterally subvert the UN and international system, in consultation with our partners and through multilateral and international platforms,” the statement read.

“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,” it added.

The eighth edition of the Raisina Dialogue, from March 2-4, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday and chief guest, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, delivered the keynote speech.

The conference, organised under the theme ‘Provocation, Uncertainty, Turbulence: Lighthouse in the Tempest?’, is witnessing the participation of representatives from over 100 countries. (ANI)