New Delhi: India, the US, Australia and Japan would not allow in any region – especially in the Indo-Pacific – a unilateral change of status quo by force, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday during the ongoing QUAD dialogues between the four member countries.
He added that a free and open Indo-Pacific was more relevant today. Kishida slammed the Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling it an “incident that shook the very foundation of the international order”.
“With the participation of President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, we have been able to send off a powerful message of commitment by the four leaders from Tokyo to the whole world,” he said.
The member leaders are in Tokyo to take part in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), and Ukraine appeared high on the agenda.
Biden said US and India – the only country in the grouping of four yet to condemn Russia’s actions — would “continue consulting closely on how to mitigate these negative effects”.
“There is so much that our countries can and will do together, and I’m committed to making the US-India partnership among the closest we have on Earth,” Biden said.
Modi praised the US-India relationship as a “partnership of trust”, saying Tuesday morning’s bilateral meeting with Biden was very “positive and productive”.
“Our common interests in defence and other matters and our shared values have strengthened our bond of trust,” Modi said, adding, “There is so much that we can and will do together.”
He added that the people-to-people relations and strong economic cooperation made the Indo-US partnership unique.
He also said: “Our trade and investment relations are steadily on the rise but they are still well below potential.”
Also read: Quad leaders press for ‘free & open’ Indo-Pacific, in a veiled reference to China