Washington, January 22. In their first meeting after Donald Trump assumed office as US President, member countries of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, popularly known as the Quad, reaffirmed their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
The meeting, held in Washington on Tuesday, was attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japanese Foreign Minister Takashi Iwaya and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
“We, the Secretary of State of the United States and the Foreign Ministers of Australia, India, and Japan, met today in Washington D.C. to reaffirm our shared commitment to strengthening a Free and Open Indo-Pacific where the rule of law, democratic values, sovereignty, and territorial integrity are upheld and defended,” a joint statement issued following the meeting reads.
“Our four nations maintain our conviction that international law, economic opportunity, peace, stability, and security in all domains including the maritime domain underpin the development and prosperity of the peoples of the Indo-Pacific. We also strongly oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion.”
The statement further reads that four nations “are committed to strengthening regional maritime, economic, and technology security in the face of increasing threats, as well as promoting reliable and resilient supply chains”.
“We look forward to advancing the work of the Quad in the coming months and will meet together on a regular basis as we prepare for the next Quad Leaders’ Summit hosted by India,” the statement added.
In separate statement, Jaishankar described the Quad meeting as “productive”.
“Significant that the Quad FMM took place within hours of the inauguration of the Trump Administration,” Jaishankar posted on his X handle. “This underlines the priority it has in the foreign policy of its member states. Our wide-ranging discussions addressed different dimensions of ensuring a free, open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific.”
He further stated that the four nations agreed on the importance of thinking bigger, deepening the agenda and intensifying our collaboration.
“The meeting today sends a clear message that in an uncertain and volatile world, the Quad will continue to be a force for global good,” he added.
The Quad is a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the US that is maintained by talks between member countries. The dialogue was initiated in 2007 by then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with the support of then Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, then Australian Prime Minister John Howard, and then US Vice President Dick Cheney. The dialogue was paralleled by joint military exercises of an unprecedented scale, titled Exercise Malabar. The diplomatic and military arrangement was widely viewed as a response to increased Chinese economic and military power in the Indo-Pacific, a region stretching from the east coast of Japan to the east coast of Africa.
