Sunday Times 2
Quad ministers reiterate commitment to peace, stability in Indo-Pacific region
View(s):- Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi compares Quad to The Beatles
By Mandira Nayar
John, Yoko, or Paul? Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov firmly believes that the Quad is “openly aimed at ruining East Asia” with meets and summits “minus-ing Russia and China”. However, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi thinks that the grouping of Australia, Japan, America, and India is comparable to the greatest rock band The Beatles.
“This is kind of a band like The Beatles. The members are fixed and they always play together (for over) 10 years,’’ said Hayashi at the Raisina Dialogue. This is the first meeting of the Quad after September 2022. Hayashi could not attend the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting on Thursday, as it conflicted with Diet (Japanese parliament) session, but he arrived early in the morning on Friday to be part of the Quad meeting, signaling how important the groping is. “But this is more kind of a soft group, so that even within The Beatles, Paul McCartney can release an album solo,’’ he said.
A pianist, Hayashi may have chosen to use the greatest band’s analogy to explain the “force of good’’ argument echoed in the joint statement issued. But he also had a more strategic answer and even made an attempt to counter the narrative that the Quad was against China. “We don’t try to exclude anybody, including China. As long as China abides by international norms and laws, then this is not a conflicting issue between China and Quad,” he said.
(From L) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar attend the Indo-Pacific Quad Foreign Ministers’ panel discussion in New Delhi on March 3, 2023. (Photo by Money SHARMA / AFP)
The meeting of the Quad comes at a time when relations between the US and China are far from rosy. Things have been tense between the two countries with the spying balloon row. India and China too just broke the ice with the first meeting between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang on the sidelines of the G20 meeting on Thursday. This was the first high-level engagement since late 2022.
The four leaders, however, emphasised that the Quad was not a military group and does not aim to counter China. EAM Jaishankar pointed out that Quad was not against but for. “What I would not like to be defined as is standing against something or somebody, because that diminishes me,’’ said Jaishankar. “That makes it out as though some other people are the center of the world and I am only there to be for them or against them.”
In a joint statement, the members pledged their “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,’’ the statement read.
The members also extended “unwavering support’’ for the UN Charter, and expressed a “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.’’
Courtesy The Week, India
| … vow to address challenges in South, East China seas NEW DELHI (Kyodo News/Japan) – The foreign ministers of India, Japan, the United States and Australia pledged Friday to address maritime challenges in the South and East China seas, in a display of solidarity against Beijing’s military assertiveness in the region. The four Indo-Pacific democracies, collectively known as the Quad, also voiced their concern about “the militarisation of disputed features” and “the dangerous use of coast guard vessels and maritime militia” in the area, according to a joint statement issued after their gathering in New Delhi. The meeting came amid the Communist-led government increasing its military presence in disputed areas in the South China Sea and repeatedly intruding into Japanese waters around the Senkaku Islands, controlled by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing, in the East China Sea. The top diplomats also spoke on Russia’s war in Ukraine, which entered its second year last week, saying the use or threat of nuclear weapons is “inadmissible.” But they fell short of condemning Russia, possibly reflecting India’s amicable ties with Moscow. Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong attended the talks, the first since they met in September in New York. The participants will support the “peaceful settlement of disputes” in the Indo-Pacific region and oppose “any unilateral attempt to change the status quo,” the statement said. The gathering, the first hosted by non-U.S. ally India since the Quad foreign ministerial session was launched in 2019 in New York, paved the way for an upcoming summit, reportedly being arranged in Sydney in late May or early June. The four ministers renewed their commitment to the realisation of a “free and open Indo-Pacific” which is “inclusive and resilient.” The vision has been mainly advocated by Tokyo and Washington in a veiled counter to Beijing’s increasing clout in the region. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning criticised the Quad meeting at a press conference Friday, saying states should not form “exclusive and closed circles.” “We think countries should focus more on things that contribute to enhancing security and mutual trust, as well as maintaining regional peace and stability,” she said. As for the Russian invasion, the ministers “continued to discuss” their responses to the situation and “underscored the need for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine in accordance with international law,” the statement said. The Group of Seven industrialised countries, including Japan and the United States, alongside other like-minded democratic nations such as Australia, have been strengthening economic sanctions on Russia over its war in Ukraine, a former member of the now-collapsed Soviet Union. Japan holds the G-7 presidency in 2023. India, which is traditionally friendly with Russia and highly dependent on it for military and energy supplies, has refrained from implementing punitive measures against Moscow. The Quad foreign ministers, meanwhile, condemned North Korea for continuing to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles. Pyongyang fired an ICBM last month. The ministers also vowed to make further efforts to prevent the “proliferation of nuclear and missile technologies related to North Korea.” Among other fields, the group discussed plans to further cooperate on building more resilient infrastructure, enhancing the clean energy transition, and creating more transparent and fair lending and financing practices, as well as working together on cybersecurity and disaster relief activities, according to the statement. In the Indian capital, Blinken and Wong took part in a foreign ministerial meeting of the Group of 20 economies, held for two days from Wednesday, while Hayashi skipped the gathering to join a parliamentary session in Japan. Later Friday, Hayashi and Blinken held a bilateral meeting and stressed the importance of deterring third parties from providing Russia with military aid, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. The United States has alleged that China has been considering supplying weapons to Moscow for the Ukraine war. Beijing has strongly denied the claim. The two ministers agreed that they should gain more support from countries considered part of the “Global South,” or developing nations in areas such as Asia, Africa and Latin America, which have sought to avoid taking sides over the Ukraine crisis. | |