The fourth edition of the Quad foreign ministers meeting began in Melbourne on Friday, according to news agency Reuters. The meeting is being attended by union minister for external affairs S Jaishankar, US secretary of state Antony Blinken, Japan foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Australian foreign minister Marise Payne.
Australian prime minister Scott Morrison was also present in the meeting. In the opening remarks, Jaishankar lauded the relations between the Quad nations. “I think Quad has worked so well because our bilateral relations have been very strong. Surely,I expect the progress in our bilateral relations to be there in Quad as well,” Jaishankar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. Jaishankar also reflected on the first in-person summit held last year between Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian PM Scott Morrison, US president Joe Biden and former Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga and said that all foreign ministers are working to implement the vision proposed by the Quad leaders.
Australian foreign minister Marise Payne said that the foreign ministers present in the meeting have major discussions. “We have a very big task this afternoon. We have to discuss our maritime security addressing critical technologies issues, counter-terrorism, our efforts to work together on climate in the region and importantly vaccine delivery,” Payne said. She highlighted that Quad delivered over 500 million vaccines over our commitment in the region. She stressed that these ties are important for the Indo-Pacific region.
During the meeting, the Japanese foreign minister Hayashi said that Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida is keen to host the second in-person meeting of Quad leaders in the first half of this year. US president Joe Biden earlier welcomed the proposal but did not specify whether he would attend or not. A report highlighted that the dates of the leaders’ summit can only be decided once Australia has held its general elections.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken said that all Quad nations are pushing for a free Indo-Pacific, taking a jibe at China without naming it. He also said that countries should not be coerced to pick a side. “People deserve to live freely, countries deserve to have the freedom to work together and associate with whom they choose. This is a group of countries brought together not by what we are against but what we are for. That quite simply is a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Blinken said, according to a tweet by ANI.
The meeting is important for all the partners as Chinese aggression in the South China Sea and Eastern Ladakh threatens stability in the region. The US and Japan will also discuss the nuclear threat posed by North Korea and Australia will also discuss with member states the trade war levelled against it by China. The Ukraine issue may also be discussed between member states.
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