The Quad Foreign Ministers gather in Tokyo
While Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is in Beijing, Japan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, KAMIKAWA Yoko, chaired a Japan-Australia-India-U.S. (Quad) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and a lunch meeting with Senator the Hon. Penny Wong, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Commonwealth of Australia, H.E. Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India, and the Honorable Antony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States of America, who are visiting Japan.
Kamikawa told reporters that the international order is becoming increasingly uncertain amid Russia’s continued aggression against Ukraine, North Korea ballistic missile launches and attempts to use force to change the status quo in the East and South China Seas.
The four ministers of the Quad held strategic discussions on the Indo-Pacific region, reaffirming their unwavering commitment to a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” (FOIP). Minister Kamikawa highlighted the Quad’s unique ability to deliver regional public goods across various fields, fostering an international society of coexistence and co-prosperity, a view shared by all four ministers.
They stressed the importance of adhering to international law to maintain a rules-based maritime order, particularly in the East and South China Seas, and reiterated their strong opposition to any unilateral efforts to alter the status quo through force or coercion.
Concerning North Korea, the ministers condemned its destabilizing ballistic missile launches, which violate UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs). They reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in line with UNSCRs and urged North Korea to comply with all its obligations under these resolutions. Minister Kamikawa also sought and obtained the support of the other ministers for the immediate resolution of the abductions issue.
In regional cooperation, the ministers expressed steadfast support for ASEAN unity and centrality, and for the implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). They also pledged their support for Pacific island countries in alignment with the “2050 Strategy” of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).
The ministers committed to advancing concrete efforts in areas such as maritime security, Women, Peace, and Security (WPS), critical and emerging technologies, cybersecurity, counter-terrorism, and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR).
Furthermore, the ministers reaffirmed their dedication to the principles of the UN Charter and agreed to pursue UN reforms, including those of the Security Council. They also discussed various global situations, including those in Ukraine and the Middle East.
The group did not mention China by name in its comments about maritime security, but China’s actions in the region have repeatedly drawn rebukes.
“Now, we have conflicts: Gaza, Ukraine, South Sudan, which understandably garner a lot of attention,” Blinken remarked in his opening statement to the Quad group.
“But even as we address these conflicts and strive to bring them to an end, we remain resolutely focused on the region we share.”
After departing from Tokyo, Blinken and Austin will engage in security talks with another Asian ally, the Philippines, as the Biden administration works to counter an increasingly assertive China.
On Saturday, Blinken met with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Laos, where he reiterated that Washington and its partners are committed to maintaining a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” according to a U.S. readout of the meeting.
India’s Minister S.Jaishankar, the longest participant in the Quad dialogue, as a diplomat then as head of the Indian Foreign Minister and eventually now as the Minister for External Affairs concluded, “these are challenging times. Whether it is stability and security or progress and prosperity, good things don’t happen by themselves. They need trusted partners. They need international corporation. The Quad is a great contemporary example of both.”
Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on Thursday, for the second time this month, on the sidelines of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meetings in Laos, where they stressed the need for an early resolution of outstanding issues along the disputed Line of Actual Control, the long Himalayan border shared by the two Asian giants.
India will host the Quad heads of state summit this year and the US will host the Quad Foreign Ministers conference next year, under a new administration.
