Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders from the United States, Japan, and Australia met in person for the second time today in Tokyo.
PM Modi stated in his opening remarks that the Quad has quickly risen to prominence on the international stage. Quad is moving on with a constructive agenda for the Indo-Pacific, he added, bolstering its reputation as a “force for good.”
PM Modi stated that the Quad member countries’ mutual coordination has improved in various areas, including vaccine delivery, climate action, supply chain resilience, disaster management, and economic cooperation. “In the Indo-Pacific, quad grouping has ensured peace, prosperity, and stability,” he continued.
The summit was attended by US President Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Australia’s newly-elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, in addition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
President Joe Biden stated that the United States will work with its “close domestic allies” to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific area. “Russia’s assault on Ukraine simply emphasises the importance of those aims of fundamental international order principles, territorial integrity, and sovereignty,” he stated.
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida said that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has challenged the principles enshrined in the UN Charter. “We should never ever allow a similar incident to happen in the Indo-Pacific region,” PM Kishida said.
Anthony Albanese, Australia’s Prime Minister, also promised further assistance to Pacific nations, including aid to strengthen “our defence and maritime cooperation.”
On the fringes of the conference, PM Modi will meet separately with President Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida, and his Australian colleague Anthony Albanese.
The Quad summit takes place at a time when regional discontent with Chinese military actions and aggressive commercial policies is escalating. The leaders are looking for common ground to offset Beijing’s growing influence in the region.
The Quad Leaders will meet for the fourth time in Tokyo. In March of last year, President Biden hosted the first-ever virtual summit of the Quad leaders, which was followed by an in-person summit in Washington in September. In March of this year, the Quad leaders conducted a virtual meeting.
In November 2017, India, Japan, the US and Australia gave shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the Quad to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence, amidst China’s growing military presence in the strategic region.
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