We are seeking a region in which no country dominates and no country is dominated, say Quad Foreign Ministers
Meeting in Tokyo, Japan on Monday (July 29, 2024), Foreign Ministers of the four Quad nations expressed serious concern over the situation in the East and South China Sea and decried the “dangerous” use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels in the region.
 
While not directly naming China, the ministers from US, India, Japan, and Australia issued an exhaustive joint statement which drew attention to international law, including respect to sovereignty and territorial integrity, as they spoke about “seeking a region where no country dominates and no country is dominated”.
 
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko, and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong attended the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. They later called on Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
 
“We reaffirm our conviction that international law, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the maintenance of peace, safety, security and stability in the maritime domain underpin the development and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific. We emphasize the importance of adherence to international law, particularly as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to address challenges to the global maritime rules-based order, including with respect to maritime claims, and in the South and East China Seas,” they said in the Joint Statement. 
 
Expressing serious concern about the situation in the East and South China Seas, they reiterated their strong opposition to “any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion”.
 
“We continue to express our serious concern about the militarization of disputed features, and coercive and intimidating manoeuvres in the South China Sea. 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,” the Joint Statement added.
 
Affirming that maritime disputes must be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law, as reflected in UNCLOS, the Quad Foreign Ministers emphasized the importance of maintaining and upholding freedom of navigation and overflight, other lawful uses of sea, and unimpeded commerce consistent with international law.
 
The Quad Foreign Ministers expressed their determination to contribute to maintaining and developing the free and open maritime order consistent with UNCLOS in the Indian and the Pacific Oceans, and to enhance their collaboration and coordination with regional partners for this purpose.
 
Delivering his opening remarks at the meeting, EAM Jaishankar stated that only the Quad collaboration can ensure that the Indo-Pacific remains free, stable, and secure. “It is only our collective endeavours that can proof the international system against disruptions, man-made or natural,” he added.