Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong (2-R) speaks as India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (L), Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (2-L), and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) listen during a joint press conference after their meeting at Iikura Guest House on July 29, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

The Quadrilateral partnership consisting of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States intends to expand the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) into the Indian Ocean Region, the Foreign Ministers of the four member countries announced on Monday in Tokyo. Addressing the meeting, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar said the four members of the Quad grouping are democracies that are working as a “powerful stabilizing factor.” The Ministers also called for immediate cessation of violence in Ukraine, Gaza, and Myanmar.

“We continue to work with the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency to enhance regional maritime domain awareness in the Pacific through satellite data, training and capacity building. In line with such efforts, we intend to geographically expand the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) to the Indian Ocean region,” a joint statement issued after the meeting declared. The IPMDA is aimed at ensuring safety and security of the critical sea lanes. In an interview with The Hindu in October 2023, the previous Indian Navy chief Admiral Hari Kumar had described the IPMDA as a “comprehensive system for monitoring and securing maritime activities in the Indo-Pacific.”

Indicating growing concern about China’s maritime activities in the South China Sea, the meeting emphasised “the importance of maintaining and upholding freedom of navigation and overflight, other lawful uses of sea, and unimpeded commerce consistent with international law”.

Monday’s meeting in Tokyo was attended by Mr. Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and the Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko, who was the host of the event.

In his remarks Mr. Jaishankar described as an action-oriented platform that is aimed at “practical outcomes” saying, “…our HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief) conversations are reflected in understandings and SOPs between our Navies.”

He also referred to the IPMDA initiative as a system that will link the information fusion centres that will enable real time coordination to deal with maritime challenges. Indicating a global agenda of the Quad club, the Foreign Ministers said that they have “great interest” in “ensuring peace and stability in the Middle East”.  The joint statement condemned the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israeli targets by Hamas but also said, “large-scale loss of civilian lives and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is unacceptable.”

The Foreign Ministers said there is an “urgent need” to “significantly increase deliveries of life-saving humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza”, and highlighted “the crucial need to prevent regional escalation.”

”We urge all parties to comply with international law, including international humanitarian law, as applicable. We welcome UNSC Resolution S/RES/2735 (2024), and strongly urge all parties concerned to work immediately and steadily toward the release of all hostages and an immediate ceasefire,” declared the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Japan, India, and the United States.

The dignitaries also expressed their “deepest concern” for the ongoing war in Ukraine where the war has been raging since February 2022 when Russian forces invaded the country. The joint statement underscored the importance of “sovereignty and territorial integrity” for Ukraine and sought “a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in line with international law, consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter”.

The four-power consensus on the territorial integrity of Ukraine indicates the larger discussion over the matter as PM Modi is expected to visit Ukraine next month. Answering a question in a press conference after the meeting, Mr. Jaishankar hinted at possibilities of “more contacts” between India and Ukraine but did not confirm Mr Modi’s Ukraine visit and said, “Things [should] move from the battlefield into the conference table, that is our endeavour…In the last two and half years, the conflict has cost lives, and has caused economic damage and created food shortages.” 

The meeting also took up the violence in Myanmar which has pitted dozens of Ethnic Armed Organisations against the forces of the military junta in Nay Pyi Taw and said the situation is impacting the neighbours of Myanmar who are facing problems like cyber crime, human trafficking and smuggling of narcotic items.

“We remain deeply concerned by the worsening political, security and humanitarian situation in Myanmar, including in Rakhine. Ongoing conflict and instability have serious implications for regional peace and security. We again call for the immediate cessation of violence; the release of all those unjustly detained; safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance,” the joint statement declared after the meeting of the Quad Foreign Ministers.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa attend a press conference at a Quad Ministerial Meeting at Iikura Guest House in Tokyo, Japan July 29, 2024..
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

The Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) has additional responsibilities of upholding a rules-based order and collaboration under the grouping can ensure that the Indo-Pacific remains free and secure, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Monday, July 29, 2024 amid China’s increasing assertiveness in the region.

In his opening remarks at a foreign ministerial conclave of Quad, Mr. Jaishankar said a clear message should be sent that the Quad is “here to stay, here to do and here to go.” “As political democracies, pluralistic societies and market economies, there is the key question of upholding a rules-based order,” Mr. Jaishankar said.

Also read: Jaishankar holds talks with U.S. Secretary of State Blinken in Tokyo

“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,” he said.

“It is therefore essential that our political understanding strengthens, our economic partnerships grow, our technology collaborations expand and our people-to-people comfort intensifies,” the External Affairs Minister added.

Besides Mr. Jaishankar, the meeting was attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Australia’s Penny Wong.

“Our meeting should send a clear message, that the Quad is here to stay, here to do and here to go,” Mr. Jaishankar said.

In her comments, Australian Foreign Minister Wong, without directly naming China, highlighted the need to ensure that “sovereignty is respected and competition is managed responsibly”.

She called for working collectively to build a region “where size or power do not determine a country’s fate. Where no country dominates, and no country is dominated. Where we all share in our aspirations.” “And have choices available to realise those aspirations. Over the last two years I have seen the Quad’s commitment to this vision of the Indo-Pacific,” she said.

‘Global economic growth’

In his remarks, Mr. Jaishankar also talked about the need to work towards ensuring global economic growth and de-risking it.

“These are not easy times. 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,” he said.

“The march of technology has also acquired extraordinary proportions, holding possibilities of the very manner in which we live, think and act. In a sense, we are in the midst of a re-globalisation,” he said.

“At the same time, it is only our collective endeavours that can proof the international system against disruptions, man-made or natural,” Mr. Jaishankar said.

The Quad foreign ministerial meeting is taking place amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Hamas-Israel hostilities.

It is expected that the Quad foreign ministers would discuss the consequences of the geo-political turmoil being witnessed in various parts of the globe.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister arrived in New Delhi on March 28 for a two-day visit to boost bilateral ties and cooperation with India, which considers Russia a time-tested ally from the Cold War-era.

Dmytro Kuleba will meet with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on March 29, as well as the deputy national security advisor, according to India’s Foreign Ministry. On March 28, Mr. Kuleba will pay his respects to Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi at the Rajghat memorial site.

His visit comes a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladmir Putin, whom India has so far avoided criticising over the war in Ukraine. Instead, New Delhi, has stressed the need for diplomacy and dialogue on ending the war and has expressed its willingness to contribute to peace efforts.

On March 20, PM Modi posted on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, to say he had expressed to Mr. Zelenskyy “India’s consistent support for all efforts for peace and bringing in an early end to the ongoing conflict,” adding that the country will continue to provide humanitarian assistance.

This came after Mr. Modi spoke to Mr. Putin to congratulate him on his re-election as President. According to a statement from India’s Foreign Ministry, the two leaders agreed to further strengthen their relationship, while Mr. Modi reiterated that dialogue and peace was the best way forward for the Russia-Ukraine war.

Under Mr. Modi, India has promoted itself as a rising global player who can mediate between the West and Russia on the war in Ukraine.

In his phone call with PM Modi last week, Mr. Zelenskyy said he encouraged India to participate in the Peace Summit that Switzerland has offered to organise.

Palestinians denied of homeland, India talks to Russia bluntly: Jaishankar

“Ukraine is interested in strengthening our trade and economic ties with India, particularly in agricultural exports, aviation cooperation, and pharmaceutical and industrial product trade,” the Ukrainian President said in a post on X.

At the United Nations, New Delhi, has refrained from voting against Moscow, and has ramped up its purchases of Russian oil at discounted prices following the invasion.

Meanwhile, India has stepped up its engagements with Western powers like the United States and the European Union. New Delhi has been trying to reduce its dependance on Moscow for arms and technology because of disruptions in supplies due to the war. India is also part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, along with the U.S., Australia and Japan.

On a visit last year, Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova urged India to play a bigger role in helping end Russia’s invasion, saying Kyiv would “welcome any effort that is directed at resolving the war.”