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Indo-Pacific, Covid, climate — Modi, Biden, Morrison, Suga share Quad vision in rare joint op-ed

In a Washington Post piece, PM Modi, US President Biden, Australian PM Morrison and Japan PM Yoshihide Suga stress commitment to accessible & dynamic Indo-Pacific.

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New Delhi: The leaders of the four-nation Quad have reiterated their commitment towards ensuring an accessible and dynamic Indo-Pacific, which is governed by “international law” and principles such as “freedom of navigation and peaceful resolution of disputes”, and remains “free from coercion”.

In an opinion piece in The Washington Post a day after the first Leaders’ Summit of Quadrilateral alliance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Australian PM Scott Morrison and Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga stressed their commitment to a free, open, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

The leaders said “the Quad” has been summoned to act together in support of a region in this new age of interconnection and opportunity throughout the Indo-Pacific.

In what appeared to be a clear message to China that is flexing its muscles in the region, the Quad leaders said they shared a vision for Indo-Pacific that is “free, open, resilient and inclusive”, which has “increasingly been tested”. The leaders asserted this has only strengthened their resolve to reckon with the most urgent of global challenges together.

The virtual Quad summit took place Friday in the backdrop of the military standoff along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh. China has been also engaged in territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. In the East China Sea, Japan also has maritime disputes with China.

Quad history

The leaders wrote that the governments of India, Japan, the US and Australia have worked closely for years, and Friday, for the first time in the Quad history, they “convened as leaders to advance meaningful cooperation at the highest level”.

Citing the December 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami crisis as the origin point of the Quad, the leaders stated, “With millions displaced and hundreds of thousands killed, the Indo-Pacific region sounded a clarion call for help. Together, our four countries answered it.”

This ‘Quad’ became a “diplomatic dialogue in 2007 and was reborn in 2017”, they said.


Also read: It’s great to see you, US President Biden tells PM Modi at Quad summit


New challenges

Pointing out the challenges ahead of the Quad and the world, the leaders said, “Since the tsunami crisis, climate change has grown more perilous, new technologies have revolutionised our daily lives, geopolitics has become ever more complex, and a pandemic has devastated the world.”

They stressed that climate change is both a strategic priority and an urgent global challenge, including for the Indo-Pacific region.

“That’s why we will work together and with others to strengthen the Paris agreement and enhance the climate actions of all nations,” they said.

Vaccine production in India

Highlighting the coronavirus as one of the “greatest risks to health and economic stability in recent history”, the Quad leaders said, “With an unwavering commitment to the health and safety of our people, we are determined to end the Covid-19 pandemic because no country will be safe so long as the pandemic continues.”

The leaders also pledged to partner to expand and accelerate production of safe, accessible and effective vaccines in India to ensure that they are administered throughout the Indo-Pacific region into 2022.

The leaders also said the Quad will be joining forces in terms of scientific ingenuity, financing, and formidable productive capacity to raise the supply of life-saving vaccines, in close collaboration with organisations such as the World Health Organization and Covax Facility.

The Quad vaccine initiative will be guided by a Quad Vaccine Experts Working Group bringing together scientists from Australia, India, Japan and the US to meet the region’s pressing needs.

Call to other nations

In a broad effort to reach out to other nations and organisations, the Quad leaders wrote, “We will renew and strengthen our partnerships in Southeast Asia, starting with the Association for Southeast Asian Nations, work with the Pacific Islands, and engage the Indian Ocean region to meet this moment.”

They added, “The Quad is a flexible group of like-minded partners dedicated to advancing a common vision and to ensuring peace and prosperity. We welcome and will seek opportunities to work with all of those who share in those goals.”


Also read: India, China must resolve identity perceptions that lead to mistrust — ex-foreign secy Gokhale


 

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2 COMMENTS

  1. What clear message to China these four Quad leaders have sent to China, when they haven’t even mentioned China by its name in their joint opinion published in the Washington Post? No nerve even to mention China! After he became the president Biden called and talked with other heads of state including Xi of China with him he talked for TWO HOURS, BY FAR LOT MORE THAN WITH ANY OTHER HEAD OF STATE. What did he talked with Xi for such a long time? And now what “clear message” is he sending to China? The fact is that he is going to need China’s cooperation more than that of any other country to fight climate change which he has called an “existential” issue.

    • US is intelligent. It has clarity of it’s interest. It is not Brain-dead dead Secu India of Nehru family, which let China took over Tibet. US sees China as becoming threat, so want to use India like it used China against USSR.

      The goal of India should be to catch up economically with China, India missed that bus due to Indira back in power in 1980. India should also take back G &B to prevent China from reaching Arabian Sea via Pakistan. India should learn from Zia Ul Haq and not give support to US agenda for peanuts.

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