QUAD countries agree to expand maritime domain awareness initiative to Indian Ocean
EAM S Jaishankar said the Quad is now “deeply and systemically” embedded in the foreign policy of the four countries.
The Quad agreed on Monday to expand a maritime domain awareness initiative to the Indian Ocean to bolster security and counter illegal activities even as the grouping challenged China’s aggressive behaviour by reiterating its commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region where “no country dominates”.
A meeting of Quad foreign ministers in Tokyo also finalised a mechanism to enhance coordination for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) operations, decided to harness digital and emerging technologies to improve food security under the AI-Engage programme, and roll out Open RAN (open radio access network) telecommunications in the Pacific Ocean archipelago of Palau.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war and China’s aggressive actions in the East and South China Seas figured in discussions between external affairs minister S Jaishankar, Australian foreign minister Penny Wong, Japan’s foreign minister Yoko Kamikawa and US secretary of state Antony Blinken.
Jaishankar told a media interaction after the meeting that the Quad is now “deeply and systemically” embedded in the foreign policy of the four countries and the grouping has built an expansive agenda that includes trusted telecom technology, underseas cable connectivity, infrastructure, critical and emerging technologies, cyber and health security, climate action, and counter-terrorism.
The Quad, he said, is not “a talk shop but a platform that generates practical outcomes”. Discussions on HADR led to understandings and standard operating procedures between the navies of the four countries and the maritime domain awareness initiative now links several information fusion centres, he said.
“The Open-RAN network...is being deployed in Palau. A space-based climate warning system will be launched soon in Mauritius. Off-grid solar projects are actually happening in Indo-Pacific islands,” Jaishankar said.
Without naming China, a joint statement issued after the meeting reiterated Quad’s “steadfast commitment” to a free and open Indo-Pacific, as well as the commitment to upholding the free and open rules-based international order, peaceful settlement of disputes and prohibition on the use of force in line with the UN Charter.
“All countries have a role in contributing to regional peace, stability, and prosperity, while seeking a region in which no country dominates and no country is dominated...and each country is free from coercion in all its forms and can exercise its agency to determine its own future,” the joint statement said.
The Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA), which was launched by Quad in 2022 to combat illegal fishing and monitor “dark shipping”, will be expanded to the Indian Ocean through the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre in Gurugram.
“We continue to work with partners to ensure that freedom of navigation, overflight, the unimpeded flow of lawful maritime commerce...continue to go forward. They are critical to the regional security, they’re critical to its ongoing prosperity,” Blinken said.
The joint statement issued said the Quad members are working for early operationalisation of the South Asia programme of IPMDA through India’s Information Fusion Centre, and incorporating effective technical cooperation with regional partners.
The Quad also intends to launch a Maritime Legal Dialogue under the maritime security working group to focus expertise on international law of the sea issues in order to support efforts to uphold the rules-based maritime order in the Indo-Pacific.
As part of their joint work in responding to disasters and providing humanitarian aid, the Quad members finalised standard operating procedures (SOPs) for HADR operations to facilitate an effective, immediate and coordinated response mechanism, the joint statement said.
In this context, the Quad foreign ministers pointed to the collaborative efforts that allowed them to provide aid worth more than $5 million to Papua New Guinea following landslides in May this year.
Under the AI-Engage programme, a memorandum of cooperation will be signed at the next Quad leaders’ meeting for joint research to advance innovation in agriculture by using emerging technologies to increase yield and resistance.
The Quad’s collaboration in Open RAN telecommunications, which is aimed at countering Chinese telecom companies by developing trusted and secure networks and promoting supplier diversification, will lead to Open RAN deployment in Palau. The Quad members have collectively secured extensive investments in Open RAN trials, core network replacement and capacity building in Palau, the joint statement said.
The joint statement welcomed progress in enhancing resilience of semiconductor supply chains among Quad members, and said the four countries will further deepen international cooperation on artificial intelligence systems and interoperability between artificial intelligence governance frameworks.
While Jaishankar and Wong made no direct references to the Russia-Ukraine conflict or the Israel-Hamas war, all four foreign ministers emphasised that the Quad is committed to acting as a force for good that upholds the international rules-based order and allows countries across the Indo-Pacific to make their own choices.
“The overall messaging is that our four countries – all democratic polities, pluralistic societies and market economies – are working together for a free and open Indo-Pacific, for a rules-based order and for global good. That by itself is a powerful stabilizing factor in an uncertain and volatile world,” Jaishankar said.
“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 cooperation. The Quad is a great contemporary example of both,” he added.
Without naming China, the joint statement highlighted the fallout of Beijing’s assertive actions across the Indo-Pacific. Against the backdrop of recent clashes between China and the Philippines, it added, “We also express our serious concern about the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels, the increasing use of various kinds of dangerous manoeuvres, and efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation activities.”
Calling for adherence to international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), in the South and East China Seas, the Quad members expressed strong opposition to “any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion”.
Expressing deep concern at the war in Ukraine, the joint statement reiterated the need for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace that is consistent with the UN Charter and includes respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. “We also note the negative impacts of the war in Ukraine with regard to global food and energy security, especially for developing and least developed countries. In the context of this war, we share the view that the use, or threat of use, of nuclear weapons is unacceptable,” it said.
The joint statement condemned the terror attacks by Hamas in October 2023 and said the large-scale loss of civilian lives and humanitarian crisis in Gaza is unacceptable. The Quad members said a deal to release hostages held by Hamas would “bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza” even as they underscored the need to increase deliveries of humanitarian aid across Gaza as well as the “crucial need to prevent regional escalation”.
“Any unilateral actions that undermine the prospect of a two-state solution, including Israeli expansion of settlements and violent extremism on all sides, must end,” the joint statement said.
The Quad members also condemned all forms of terrorism and violent extremism, including cross-border terror. “We strongly reiterate our condemnation of terrorist attacks, including the 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks and call for bringing the perpetrators of these attacks to justice without delay,” the joint statement said.
“We reiterate the call for concerted action against all UN-listed terrorist groups including Al-Qa’ida, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and their proxy groups,” it added.