To work towards inclusive Indo-Pacific, Quad to hold 3rd ministerial meet today

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad will hold its third ministerial meeting on Thursday to discuss practical cooperation for maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.

The third meeting of the foreign ministers of the group that includes India, Australia, Japan and the US is being held less than five months after the last meeting in Tokyo in October, signalling the Biden administration’s commitment to the Quad as a key formation in the Indo-Pacific.

The meeting will “provide an opportunity to continue the useful exchange of views from their last meeting in Tokyo” on October 6, 2020, the external affairs ministry said in a brief statement.

The foreign ministers will “exchange views on regional and global issues especially practical areas of cooperation towards maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region”, the statement said.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar and his counterparts from the other members of the Quad will also discuss efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, addressing global climate change and other issues of mutual interest, the statement said.

US state department spokesperson Ned Price told a news briefing in Washington that the virtual meeting of the Quad foreign ministers is “critical to advancing our shared goals of a free and open Indo-Pacific and rising to the defining challenges of our time, including coordinating our efforts on Covid-19 response as well as climate change”.

“This administration has made clear that the US values our alliances and will work with our partners and friends around the world to pursue common interests across the globe,” Price added.

There had been speculation in some quarters on whether India would continue to work closely with the Quad following progress in its efforts aimed at disengagement with Chinese forces in Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

After several rounds of talks at the political and diplomatic level, India and China agreed on disengagement on the northern and southern banks of Pangong Lake, one of the friction points in Ladakh sector.

At the last Quad ministerial meeting in October, members of the group had pushed for a rules-based global order and peaceful resolution of disputes in the face of China’s growing aggression across the Indo-Pacific.

Then US secretary of state Mike Pompeo had indicated at the time of the meeting that Washington wanted to formalise and expand the informal group.

While speaking at the Quad meeting in Tokyo, Jaishankar had said that India and the other members of the group remain committed to a rules-based international order, “underpinned by the rule of law, transparency, freedom of navigation in the international seas, respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, and peaceful resolution of disputes”.

The Quad was upgraded to the ministerial level in September 2019. Recent reports have suggested that the Biden administration is keen on further upgrading the Quad by organising a meeting of leaders of the four countries.

Chinese officials have likened the group to a “mini NATO” and said its activities are aimed at targeting third parties.