Foreign Ministers of the Quad countries Friday called for lasting peace in Ukraine and, in an oblique reference to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, underlined respect for territorial sovereignty and integrity.
Meeting in New Delhi, the Quad ministers — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong — also targeted China’s aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific as well as its attempts to block designation of terrorists at the United Nations.
They agreed to set up a new working group on counter-terrorism and looked forward to a meeting in the US of the working group on maritime security.
In their joint statement, a day after G20 Foreign Ministers were unable to agree on a joint communique because of opposition from Russia and China over the reference to Russia-Ukraine war, the Quad Foreign Ministers included, for the first time, a paragraph on the Ukraine conflict.
When they met last in the US in September last year, their statement did not have any paragraph on the Ukraine conflict.
The joint statement Friday stated: “We continued to discuss our responses to the conflict in Ukraine and the immense human suffering it is causing, and concurred that the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible. We underscored the need for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine in accordance with international law, including the UN Charter. We emphasised that the rules-based international order must respect sovereignty, territorial integrity, transparency and peaceful resolution of disputes.”
They decided to form a “Quad Working Group on Counter-Terrorism”.
“We note with deep concern that terrorism has become increasingly diffuse, aided by terrorists’ adaptation to, and the use of emerging and evolving technologies such as unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and the internet, including social media platforms for recruitment and incitement to commit terrorist acts, as well as for the financing, planning, and preparation of terrorist activities. We welcome the focused discussions on these themes at the Quad Counter-Terrorism Policy Meeting and tabletop exercise hosted by Australia in October 2022.”
“We are pleased to announce the establishment of the Quad Working Group on Counter-Terrorism, which will explore cooperation amongst the Quad, and with Indo-Pacific partners, to counter new and emerging forms of terrorism, radicalisation to violence and violent extremism. We look forward to its first meeting in the United States in 2023 to continue our discussions on this global issue.”
They also decided to engage more closely with the Indian Ocean Rim Association, a grouping of 23 members which includes India and Australia.
We support regional institutions in the Pacific and are also further strengthening our cooperation with the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), to address the region’s most pressing and important challenges. We welcome India’s leadership in finalising the IORA Outlook on the Indo-Pacific,” it said.
On maritime security, the ministers said that the Quad Maritime Security Working Group meeting will be hosted by the US in Washington DC this month.
With an eye on China’s aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific, their joint statement said, “We recognise 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. We reiterate 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. We strongly oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo or increase tensions in the area. We express serious concern at the militarisation of disputed features, the dangerous use of coast guard vessels and maritime militia, and efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation activities.”
On counter-terrorism, the Quad also hit out at China for blocking listing of terrorists at the UN.
“We unequivocally condemn terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations. We denounce the use of terrorist proxies and emphasise the importance of denying any logistical, financial or military support to terrorist organisations which could be used to launch or plan terrorist attacks, including transnational and cross-border attacks. We reiterate our condemnation of terrorist attacks, including 26/11 Mumbai, which claimed lives of citizens from all Quad countries, and Pathankot attacks…We express our concern at attempts to politicise the working of the UNSC Sanctions Regimes and call on all states to maintain the transparent, objective and evidence based working methods of UNSC Sanctions Committees.”