Quad opposes threat of use of nuclear weapons in context of Ukraine conflict

At their first interaction since the start of the Ukraine war, Blinken told Lavrov that Russia should end its aggression and return to the New ‘START Treaty’ that places verifiable limits on American and Russian nuclear arsenals.

The Quadrilateral Security Group or Quad on Friday denounced the threat of the use of nuclear weapons in the context of the Ukraine conflict as “inadmissible” and opposed unilateral actions aimed at changing the status quo or increasing tensions in the South and East China Seas.

From right to left Australian foreign minister Penny Wong, EAM S Jaishankar, US secretary of state Antony Blinken and Japan foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi (Twitter/@DrSJaishankar)

A joint statement issued after a meeting of the foreign ministers of Quad, which groups India, Australia, Japan and the US, also unveiled new initiatives to ramp up cooperation to tackle key challenges across the Indo-Pacific region. This included the creation of the Quad working group on counter-terrorism to counter new and emerging forms of terror.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar chaired the meeting with Australian foreign minister Penny Wong, Japan foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and US secretary of state Antony Blinken, which was held a day after a stormy gathering of G20 foreign ministers were unable to agree on a joint communique because of deep divisions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Quad foreign ministers discussed the responses to the Ukraine conflict and “concurred that the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible”, according to the joint statement.

The ministers “underscored the need for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine in accordance with international law, including the UN Charter” and said the rules-based international order “must respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity, transparency and peaceful resolution of disputes.”

Participating in a panel discussion with his Quad counterparts at the Raisina Dialogue shortly after the meeting, Blinken said: “If we allow with impunity Russia to do what it’s doing in Ukraine, then that’s a message to would-be aggressors everywhere that they may be able to get away with it too.”

Blinken also said the G20 was rightly focused on the developments in Ukraine because Russia’s aggression matters to the world.

The Quad foreign ministers also met a day after a brief interaction between Blinken and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov on the margins of the G20 meeting. At their first interaction since the start of the Ukraine war, Blinken told Lavrov that Russia should end its aggression and return to the New ‘START Treaty’ that places verifiable limits on American and Russian nuclear arsenals.

The joint statement also made a thinly veiled reference to China’s aggressive actions across the Indo-Pacific while pointing to challenges to the maritime rules-based order, including in the South and East China Seas. It said the Quad members “strongly oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo or increase tensions in the area.”

Without again naming China, the Quad members expressed serious concern at “the militarisation of disputed features, the dangerous use of coast guard vessels and maritime militia, and efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation activities.”

Over the past few years, China has created military facilities and artificial islands in the South China Sea, while fleets of Chinese fishing boats backed by militia vessels have often been involved in face-offs with the vessels of other countries in this region.

The Quad foreign ministers expressed deep concern at terrorism becoming increasingly diffuse due to the use of emerging and evolving technologies such as unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and the internet.

The Quad working group, which will hold its first meeting in the US in 2023, will explore cooperation both within the Quad and with Indo-Pacific partners to counter new and emerging forms of terror, radicalisation to violence and violent extremism.

The joint statement also pointed to the importance of peace and security in the maritime domain for development in the Indo-Pacific and said the Quad will strengthen cooperation with the Indian Ocean Rim Association to address the region’s most pressing and important challenges.

The Quad Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Partnership for the Indo-Pacific is finalising standard operating procedures that will facilitate an effective and coordinated response to disasters and emergencies, the joint statement said.