Tokyo | It is only Quad nations' collaboration that can ensure that the Indo-Pacific remains free, open, stable and secure as the world grapples with the key question of upholding a rules-based order, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday, amidst growing concerns about China's maritime coercion.
In his opening statement at the Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting here, Jaishankar said Quad members have significant additional responsibilities.
"As political democracies, pluralistic societies and market economies, there is the key question of upholding a rules-based order," he said.
Australia, India, Japan, and the United States are members of the Quad grouping.
"It is only our collaboration that can ensure that the Indo-Pacific remains free, remains open, stable, secure and prosperous. The commitment to doing global good that we have all undertaken has a resonance far beyond this region.
"It is only our collaboration that can ensure that the Indo-Pacific remains free, remains open, stable, secure, prosperous," he added.
The commitment to doing global good Quad nations have undertaken has a resonance far beyond this region, he said.
"It is therefore essential that our political understanding strengthens, our economic partnerships grow, technology collaborations expand and our people-to-people comfort intensifies. Our meeting should send a clear message that the quad is here to stay, here to do and here to grow," he said.
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.
The South China Sea lies at the junction between the Pacific and Indian Ocean.
China claims most of the South China Sea as its own, while The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counterclaims over the maritime area. China has a maritime dispute with Japan over the East China Sea.
In his statement Jaishankar said these are not easy times and a major challenge is to ensure global economic growth while also de-risking it.
"Supply chains are a particular focus for resilience. Just as we push for trusted and transparent digital partnerships, the mark of technology has also acquired extraordinary proportions, holding possibilities of the very manner in which we live, think and act," he said.
In a sense, the world is in the midst of a re-globalisation, the minister said.
