Quad to support Indo Pacific countries’ efforts to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific
The Joint statement of Quad foreign ministers meeting in Australia
The
following is the joint statement released by the Secretary of State of the
United States and the Foreign Ministers of the Governments of Australia, India,
and Japan.
We, the
Foreign Ministers of Australia, India and Japan and the Secretary of State of
the United States met in Melbourne, Australia on 11 February 2022, for the
fourth Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. In meeting, we reaffirm the Quad’s
commitment to supporting Indo Pacific countries’ efforts to advance a free
and open Indo-Pacific – a region which is inclusive and resilient, and in which
states strive to protect the interests of their people, free from coercion.
Our meeting
advanced the Quad’s positive and ambitious agenda. We are focused on working
closely with Indo-Pacific partners to address the region’s most important
challenges. Working together as the Quad, we are more effective in delivering
practical support to the region.
Support ASEAN
As
unwavering supporters of ASEAN unity and centrality, and the ASEAN-led
architecture, we continue to support ASEAN partners to advance the practical
implementation of ASEAN’s Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.
The
Outlook’s principles are fundamental to regional stability and prosperity and
will be key to guiding the region’s economic and political future. We
acknowledge the importance of sub-regional mechanisms and institutions,
including in the Mekong sub-region. We will continue to support Cambodia in its
important role as 2022 ASEAN Chair.
As we enter
the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Quad partners have collectively
provided more than 500 million vaccine doses. Together, we have pledged to
donate more than 1.3 billion vaccine doses globally.
We are
pleased with the Quad Vaccine Partnership’s rapid progress in expanding vaccine
production at the Biological E Ltd facility in India, which aims to deliver at
least 1 billion vaccines by the end of 2022. We look forward to the delivery of
the first batch of Quad-supported vaccines in the first half of this year.
We are
assisting to train healthcare workers, combat vaccine hesitancy and augment
infrastructure, especially cold chain systems, for ‘last mile’ vaccine
delivery. We are working to identify and address vaccine gaps and barriers
exacerbated by gender, disability and social inequities, and ensure safe,
effective, affordable and quality-assured vaccination coverage in hard-to-reach
areas. We welcome the timely initiative for coordinating the response to combat
the COVID pandemic under a Global Action Plan for Enhanced Engagement.
Humanitarian assistance and disaster
response (HADR)
We welcome
progress on the practical cooperation we lead as Quad Foreign Ministers to
address regional challenges, including humanitarian assistance and disaster
response (HADR), maritime security, counter-terrorism, countering
disinformation and cyber security.
We are
strengthening HADR cooperation in the region. Since 2004, when we collaborated
in response to the Indian Ocean tsunami, Quad partners have continued to
respond quickly and effectively to natural disasters in the Indo-Pacific. We
recognise that recent natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic have
highlighted the need to build and maintain resilience against such events, and
are proud to be supporting our Tongan partners in their response and recovery
efforts following the January 2022 volcano eruption and tsunami. We commit to
further strengthening our collaboration and building links between our response
agencies to provide timely and effective HADR support to the region.
The Quad
recognises that international law, peace, and security in the maritime domain underpin
the development and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific. We reiterate the importance
of adherence to international law, particularly as reflected in the UN
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to meet challenges to the maritime
rules-based order, including in the South and East China Seas.
We are
determined to deepen engagement with regional partners, including through
capacity-building and technical assistance, to strengthen maritime domain
awareness; protect their ability to develop offshore resources, consistent with
UNCLOS; ensure freedom of navigation and over flight; combat challenges, such
as illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; and promote the safety and
security of sea lines of communication.
Security of Indo-Pacific countries
The Quad is exchanging information on ever-evolving threats and working with Indo-Pacific countries, and in multilateral fora, to counter all forms of terrorism and violent extremism. We denounce the use of terrorist proxies for cross-border terrorism and urge countries to work together to eliminate terrorist safe havens; disrupt terrorist networks and the infrastructure and financial channels which sustain them; and halt cross-border movement of terrorists. In this context, we call on all countries to ensure that territory under their control is not used to launch terror attacks and to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of such attacks.
We reiterate our condemnation of terrorist attacks in India, including 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks. We reaffirm UNSC Resolution 2593 (2021) that Afghan territory should not be used to threaten or attack any country, shelter or train terrorists, or plan or finance terrorist acts, with such ungoverned spaces being a direct threat to the safety and security of the Indo-Pacific.
The Quad is
supporting regional neighbours to build resilience and counter disinformation.
We will also coordinate efforts to assist partners across the Indo-Pacific to
address the growing threat of ransom ware, by strengthening capacity building
to ensure resilient cyber security and to counter cybercrime. We are committed
to promoting international peace and stability in cyberspace, and to helping
build the capacity of regional countries to implement the UN Voluntary
Framework for Responsible State Behaviour in Cyberspace.
Free, open, and inclusive rules-based
order
Quad
partners champion the free, open, and inclusive rules-based order, rooted in
international law that protects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of
regional countries. We reaffirm our commitment to upholding and strengthening
the rules-based multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization
at its core. We oppose coercive economic policies and practices that run
counter to this system and will work collectively to foster global economic
resilience against such actions.
We express
our commitment to strengthen our diplomatic efforts so that the vision for
technologies, guided by the Quad Principles on Technology Design, Development,
Governance, and Use, will be further shared by all like-minded nations.
Reflecting
Quad leaders’ commitment to cooperate to establish responsible and resilient
clean-energy supply chains, we welcome Australia’s proposal to host an
Indo-Pacific Clean Energy Supply Chain Forum in mid-2022.
We reaffirm
our belief that our people-to-people ties are among the Quad’s greatest
strengths and welcomed the United States’ new exchange programs in the fields
of cyber security, maritime security, countering disinformation, and promoting
transparency in governance. We are exploring a track 1.5 dialogue between our
respective strategic thinkers.
Worried about Myanmar
We remain
gravely concerned about the crisis in Myanmar and call for an end to violence,
the release of all those arbitrarily detained, including foreigners, and
unhindered humanitarian access. We reaffirm our support for ASEAN efforts to
seek a solution in Myanmar and call on the military regime to urgently
implement ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus and swiftly return Myanmar to the path
of democracy. We encourage the international community to work together to
support an end to the violence.
North Korea
We condemn
North Korea’s destabilising ballistic missile launches in violation of UN
Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs), reaffirm our commitment to the complete
denuclearisation of North Korea consistent with UNSCRs, and reconfirm the
necessity of immediate resolution of the issue of Japanese abductees.
We look
forward to Japan hosting the next Quad Leaders’ Summit in the first half of
2022.
We will
continue to meet annually to deliver as a force for good for the region.
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