The Quad leaders, in their third in-person summit, held in Hiroshima on Saturday, affirmed that the four countries are committed to bringing enduring benefit to the Indo-Pacific region by providing options that build resilience, open communication and economic growth as they issued Joint Principles for Secure Software, Principles for Critical and Emerging Technology Standards and Principles for Clean Energy Supply Chains in the Indo-Pacific. The Quad leaders also announced the evolution of Quad Vaccine Partnership into a broader Quad Health Security Partnership. Through this partnership, Quad will strengthen coordination and collaboration in support of health security in the Indo-Pacific. The Quad leaders expressed serious concerns over militarisation in the Indo-Pacific region and call for joint action against terrorism. The Indo-Pacific region is an "engine" of global trade, innovation and development and its success and security are important for the whole world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his opening remarks at the Summit. Modi said that India will be happy to host the Quad Summit in 2024. The Principles on Critical and Emerging Technology Standards announced on Saturday intended to promote interoperability, innovation, trust, transparency, diverse markets, security-by-design, compatibility, inclusiveness and free and fair market competition. "We are committed to supporting industry-led, consensus-based multi-stakeholder approaches to the development of technology standards, and we recognise the importance of procedures that ensure trust, transparency, openness, impartiality and consensus," according to Principles on Critical and Emerging Technology Standards. "The Quad partners recognize the security risks posed by lack of adequate controls to prevent tampering with the software supply chain by adversarial and non-adversarial threats. By leveraging the voice of the Quad, we can promote and strengthen a culture where software security is by design and default...," according to the Quad Joint Principles for Secure Software issued after the Summit. The statement outlined certain principles to create deterrence. The Quad intends to pursue certain high-level secure software development practices and to adopt them into existing government policy, acquire software that meets these practices, and encourage software developers/suppliers to implement them. This would entail ensuring that people are adequately trained, processes are defined, and technology solutions are in place to perform secure software development; Protecting the Software and Software Development Environment; Producing Well-Secured Software; Identifying vulnerabilities in software releases and respond appropriately to continuously address those vulnerabilities and prevent similar ones from occurring in the future. Each member of the Quad intends to pursue the minimum guidelines for government procurement of software or a product containing software. This would entail “Require self-attestation by the software producer, unless a third-party certification is provided, stating that the software’s development complies with secure software development practices; Encourage the software developer to report to a respective national vulnerability disclosure program that includes a reporting and disclosure process.” The Quad identified five security measures for government software use including ensuring adequate controls and processes to protect software and software platforms from unauthorized access and usage and ensuring adequate controls and processes to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data used by software and software platforms. The Quad Principles on Clean Energy Supply Chains in the Indo-Pacific aimed to expand manufacturing of clean energy technologies in parallel with exponentially increasing demand and enable commercial-scale production capabilities for critical devices, components, and systems. Without directly referring to Chinese ambitions the Quad leaders stated that it intended to maintain and strengthen stability in the Indo-Pacific where competition is managed responsibly, in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Charter. The Quad announced cooperation with Palau to establish a deployment of Open Radio Access Networks (Open RAN), the first in the Pacific. Source: The Economic Times

The leaders of the Quad group -- Australia, India, Japan and the United States -- delivered a thinly veiled swipe at Beijing's behaviour Saturday at a summit in Hiroshima. US President Joe Biden and his three partners in the group did not mention China by name but the communist superpower was clearly the target of language in a joint statement calling for "peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific maritime domain". "We strongly oppose destabilizing or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion," the statement said, using diplomatic language that appeared to refer to China's economic tactics to gain leverage over poorer countries and also its military expansion in the Pacific. "We express serious concern at the militarization of disputed features, the dangerous use of coastguard and maritime militia vessels, and efforts to disrupt other countries' offshore resource exploitation activities," the statement added, clearly referring to Chinese construction of bases on former offshore reefs and harassment of non-Chinese vessels in disputed waters. The Quad leaders held their meeting while already gathered in Hiroshima for a Group of 7 summit. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had been meant to host Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Sydney next week. However, Biden pulled out, saying he had to return to Washington from Japan on Sunday to negotiate with Republican opponents on the US debt ceiling. Biden apologised for forcing the change in plans and has invited Albanese to make a state visit to the White House. In their statement, they stressed the Quad's support for infrastructure improvements across the vast Asia-Pacific region, while saying, in another apparent dig at China, that they wanted to assist such investments but would "not impose unsustainable debt burdens" on recipients of assistance. Among the projects the Quad leaders highlighted was the "urgent need to support quality undersea cable networks in the Indo-Pacific, which are key to global growth and prosperity". They announced a partnership aiming to draw on their countries' expertise in the specialist maritime cable sector. They also said that an existing pilot programme for high-tech monitoring of illegal fishing would expand. And they said they were "deeply concerned" by repression in Myanmar, and they condemned "North Korea's destabilizing ballistic missile launches and pursuit of nuclear weapons in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions". Source: The Economic Times

Quad leaders, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Australian Foreign minister Penny Wong were delighted to participate in the group's Foreign Ministers' Meeting and terming it, "very good" and "excellent meeting." Blinken on Friday said that the Quad recognizes that the Indo-Pacific region will shape the trajectory of the world in the 21st century and are committed to safeguarding its peace, stability, and growing prosperity. "Very good...,"says US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on being asked about the QUAD meeting in Delhi today. Blinken also took part in the panel discussion with EAM Dr S Jaishankar, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong. Blinken also held talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi after the meeting of the Quad Foreign Ministers in New Delhi. Calling the meeting of the Quad meeting an 'excellent meeting', Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that it was a good opportunity for the members. "I thank Dr S Jaishankar for hosting us. It was a good opportunity for the Quad members to talk at the Raisina Dialogue," Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in Delhi. 'Quad Squad: Power and Purpose of the Polygon' that included all the Quad members. The Quad Foreign Ministers meet on the sidelines of the eighth edition of the Raisina Dialogue, the flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-strategy organised by the Ministry of External Affairs with the Observer Research Foundation. Quad according to the US Secretary of State is a force for good, positive, and affirmative action. "If we allow Russia to do what it is doing in Ukraine then that's a message to the aggressors everywhere that they may be able to get away with it too," Blinken said at the discussion chaired by external affairs minister S Jaishankar and where Foreign Ministers of Australia, Penny Wong and Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi participated.

Quad -- a "force for good"-- with the help of its maritime initiative, Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA), is eyeing to combat China in its expansionist ambitions in the South and East China Sea where the country's fishing practices have long been called out for being "opaque, vast and at times, illegal", reported a Canada-based think tank, International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS). While the bloc's members took no names, the target of this maritime initiative is unmistakable, with brewing concerns over questions of sovereignty in the South China Sea disputed waters in recent times. The communication system set up between the Quad member countries will allow these major global players to monitor and keep a check on the political, military, and unhindered flow of economic activities carried out by China in the Indo-Pacific region. Given China's strategic and callous attitude towards violating sovereign and jurisdictional rights of neighbouring nations, China's illegal expansion in the Pacific waters continues to remain a grave cause of concern.   Chinese maritime militia's illegal fishing is not a standalone issue. China is also carrying out "dubious operations". China's move to prohibit Vietnam and the Philippines from fishing activity in the South China Sea has raised serious concerns regarding the sovereign rights of these nations over the Sea's disputed waters. All of this calls for checks to be put in place regarding China's expansive maritime activities, both illegal as well as covert. The government in Hanoi condemned Beijing's despotic move, initially appealing to the country to respect the jurisdiction and sovereign rights of Vietnam. However, Beijing has since rejected the fishing ban, deeming it invalid and instructing its citizens to carry on their fishing activities within the limits of Vietnamese maritime territory. On May 31, the Philippines was reported to have filed a diplomatic protest against the fishing ban for harassment and violating its jurisdictions at the hands of Beijing's coast guard. Earlier in 2021, tensions remained high between the Philippines and China over sovereignty conflicts, as the latter had a fishing fleet comprising over 200 fishing vessels anchored at Whitsun Reef, an area in the South China Sea that is claimed by the Philippines, as per the think tank. Quad members India, Japan, Australia, and the US signed IPMDA on May 24, a maritime security initiative meant to monitor and tackle illicit fishing activities, dark shipping, and other tactical activities in the Indo-pacific region. This maritime security partnership will allow the member countries to monitor illegal fishing, track "dark shipping" and other tactical-level activities. "The benefit of this maritime initiative will allow tracking of dark shipping and other tactical-level activities, such as rendezvous at sea, as well as improve partners' ability to respond to climate and humanitarian events and to protect their fisheries, which are vital to many Indo-Pacific economies," said the White House in a media statement on the sidelines of Quad Summit. Notably, "dark ships" are vessels with their Automatic Identification System (AIS) - a transponder system - switched off so as not to be detectable. This crucial maritime pact between the Quad member countries will enhance the security apparatus of the Indo-Pacific region. The maritime initiative IPMDA will offer a near-real-time, integrated, and cost-effective maritime domain awareness picture, added the White House in the statement. This initiative will transform the ability of partners in the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean region to fully monitor the waters on their shores and, in turn, to uphold a free and open Indo-Pacific. Quad countries are committed to contributing to the region's maritime domain awareness -- a fundamental requirement for peace, stability, and prosperity -- through investment in IPMDA over five years, stated the White House in the statement. The partnership will innovate upon existing maritime domain awareness efforts, rapidly bringing emerging technologies to bear for the greater good of the Indo-Pacific community. IPMDA will build a faster, wider, and more accurate maritime picture of near-real-time activities in partners' waters. This common operating picture will integrate three critical regions -- the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean region -- in the Indo-Pacific. Source: The Economic Times

      Four-nation grouping Quad on Tuesday launched a major new initiative for the Indo-Pacific that allows the partner countries to fully monitor the waters on their shores and help ensure peace and stability in the region, a move that comes amid China's increasingly intimidatory behaviour. The announcement on the rollout of the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) came at the end of the second in-person Quad summit attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese.         A joint statement by the four leaders said the IPMDA will support and work in consultation with Indo-Pacific nations and regional information fusion centres in the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands by providing technology and training to support shared maritime domain awareness to promote stability and prosperity. The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and vowed to work "tirelessly to deliver tangible results" for the region. "The IPMDA embodies what the Quad stands for: catalysing our joint efforts towards concrete results that help to make the region more stable and prosperous," it said. The leaders also announced the establishment of the 'Quad Partnership on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) in the Indo-Pacific' that is aimed at further strengthening collaboration to effectively respond to disasters in the region. According to a White House fact sheet, the IPMDA will offer a "near-real-time, integrated, and cost-effective" maritime domain awareness picture and it will transform the ability of partners in the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean region to fully monitor the waters on their shores, and, in turn, "uphold a free and open Indo-Pacific”. It said the new initiative will allow tracking of 'dark shipping' and other tactical-level activities, such as rendezvous at sea. "Quad countries are committed to contributing to the region's maritime domain awareness -- a fundamental requirement for peace, stability, and prosperity -- through investment in IPMDA over five years. “The partnership will innovate upon existing maritime domain awareness efforts, rapidly bringing emerging technologies to bear for the greater good of the Indo-Pacific community," the White House said. China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it. Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea. China also has territorial disputes with Japan in the East China Sea. The White House said the IPMDA will build a faster, wider, and more accurate maritime picture of near-real-time activities in the waters of its partners. "This common operating picture will integrate three critical regions -- the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean region -- in the Indo-Pacific. The benefits of this picture are vast: it will allow tracking of 'dark shipping' and other tactical-level activities, such as rendezvous at sea, as well as improve partners' ability to respond to climate and humanitarian events and to protect their fisheries, which are vital to many Indo-Pacific economies," the White House said. It said the IPMDA will harness commercially-available data using existing technologies. "Through a combination of automatic identification system and radio-frequency technologies, Quad partners can provide an unprecedented 'common thread' of activities. Because of its commercial origin, this data will be unclassified, allowing the Quad to provide it to a wide range of partners who wish to benefit," it said. It said existing support infrastructure for information-sharing such as the Information Fusion Cente for Indian Ocean Region in India, the Information Fusion Center based in Singapore; the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency based in the Solomon Islands and the Pacific Fusion Center, based in Vanuatu, could be part of the initiative.   The White House said the Quad partners will begin immediate consultations on the opportunity with partners in the region. "As the initiative proceeds, the Quad will identify future technologies of promise, allowing IPMDA to remain a cutting-edge partnership that promotes peace and stability throughout the region," it said. In their statement, the Quad leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and emphasised the importance of fundamental values and principles. They also expressed their commitment to work tirelessly to deliver "tangible results" to the region. "In doing so, we will regularise the Quad activities, including regular meetings by the leaders and foreign ministers. We agree to hold our next in-person summit in 2023 hosted by Australia," they said. The Quad leaders on Tuesday also strongly opposed any coercive, provocative or unilateral actions that seek to change status quo and increase tensions in the Indo-Pacific and reaffirmed their resolve to uphold the international rules-based order, amidst China's growing assertiveness in the region. "We strongly oppose any coercive, provocative or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo and increase tensions in the area, such as the militarization of disputed features, the dangerous use of coast guard vessels and maritime militia, and efforts to disrupt other countries' offshore resource exploitation activities," said a joint statement issued after the meeting. It said the Quad is committed to cooperation with partners in the region who share the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific. "We will champion adherence to international law, particularly as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the maintenance of freedom of navigation and overflight, to meet challenges to the maritime rules-based order, including in the East and South China Seas," the statement said. The summit took place at a time when the relations between China and the Quad member countries have become tense, with Beijing increasingly challenging democratic values and resorting to coercive trade practices. Relations between India and China nose-dived after the Eastern Ladakh standoff in 2020 following Beijing moving thousands of troops to several disputed areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) which was strongly objected to and resisted by New Delhi. China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it. Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea. India, the US and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific against the backdrop of China's rising military manoeuvring in the region. "We strongly support the principles of freedom, rule of law, democratic values, sovereignty and territorial integrity, peaceful settlement of disputes without resorting to threat or use of force, any unilateral attempt to change the status quo, and freedom of navigation and overflight, all of which are essential to the peace, stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region and to the world," the joint statement said. The Quad will continue to act decisively together to advance these principles in the region and beyond, the statement said as it reaffirmed the four-nation grouping's resolve to uphold the international rules-based order where countries are free from all forms of military, economic and political coercion.   Source: rediff.com

As a counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the Quad nations — India, the US, Japan and Australia — on Tuesday agreed to extend more than $50 billion of assistance to the Indo-Pacific region over the next five years to bridge the infrastructure gaps. “We reaffirmed our shared commitment to deepen cooperation on infrastructure, which is critical to driving productivity and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. We are committed to working closely with partners and the region to drive public and private investment to bridge gaps,” the Quad leaders said in a joint statement. Briefing reporters at the end of the two-day visit of Prime minister Narendra Modi to Japan, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said the Quad leaders mentioned that the filling up of the infra gaps had to be in a manner that it did not result in unsustainable burden and unsustainable bouquet of projects. “The figure ($50 billion) that you saw is a projected figure. Infrastructure cooperation that will flow out of this will precisely address these points -- that the projects are sustainable, they are demand-driven, and they meet the specific needs of the Indo-Pacific countries,” Kwatra said.   Kwatra said Modi put forward specific proposals at the Quad summit which could contribute to guiding the grouping’s agenda in the months and years ahead. “Some of the proposals include the need to take solid initiatives in the field of climate finance and sustainable developments; emphasis on the importance of building appropriate platforms for the industry and businesses in the Quad and Indo-Pacific countries to forge partnerships in the field of critical and emerging technologies; formal and informal mechanisms to strengthen partnership among the like-minded countries in the areas of common interest,” he added. Without naming Sri Lanka, the Quad leaders also resolved to address debt issues of countries in the region. “We will work to strengthen capacities of the countries in need to cope with debt issues under the G20 Common Framework, and by promoting debt sustainability and transparency in close collaboration with finance authorities of relevant countries, including through the ‘Quad Debt Management Resource Portal,’ which consists of multiple bilateral and multilateral capacity building assistance,” the joint statement said. The Quad countries also launched a new maritime domain awareness initiative, the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA), to combat illegal fishing and respond to humanitarian and natural disasters in the region. China is believed to have become the world’s largest perpetrator of illegal fishing, depleting global fish stocks and undermining traditional livelihoods of many countries. Biden hails Modi’s Covid handling During a closed session of the Quad summit, US President Joe Biden praised Modi for handling the Covid pandemic successfully in a democratic manner. He contrasted India's success with China's failure to handle the pandemic, though both countries are of comparable size, a senior official said. Source: The Business Standard

Washington sees New Delhi’s role in QUAD as a “very high priority” as it has a “very significant” element including the much-enhanced ability to speak frankly about issues in the region, said a top US official on Friday. Speaking during a press call, a senior Biden administration official previewing the US’ Indo-Pacific Strategy highlighted the importance of ties between the US and India. The official called India a “critical strategic partner” and expressed US’ desire to continue building on the “very good work” in order to significantly broaden and deepen the relationship between the two nations.  "With regard to India, I think we are very explicitly highlighting the importance of, what the last four administrations have all played a very important role in advancing, which is the much greater US engagement, much improved US relations with and much closer US partnership with India," the Biden administration official said in a statement. "India's role in the QUAD, is a very significant element of that, including the much-enhanced ability to speak frankly about issues in the region, to work together to deliver, essentially, public goods that address, challenges in the region, and to enhance ways in which we can coordinate. So we see this (India) as a very, very high priority,” the official added.  Further, asserting that India is in a very different place, in many ways than Australia and other countries, the senior official stated that New Delhi faces very significant challenges. According to the press statement, the official noted China’s behaviour in the line of actual control and said that Beijing’s actions has had a “galvanising” impact on India. The official also went on to say that from the US’ standpoint, there are tremendous opportunities in working with another democracy, with a country that has a maritime tradition that understands the importance of the global commons to advance critical issues in the region.    The Biden administration official also noted that there is a tremendous appreciation of the importance and the challenges of strengthening the engagement with India. There is also a “recognition that India is a critical strategic partner, and a desire to continue building on the very good work of previous administrations to significantly broaden and deepen that relationship,” the official added.  'Changing India-US relationship has been a defining development' Meanwhile, it is to mention that during bilateral talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the QUAD Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, EAM S Jaishankar stated that the changing India-US relationship has been a very defining development in this century. Hailing the India-US relations, Jaishankar delivered the opening address, saying that he welcomed the chance to sit with Blinken and look at the "positive trajectory" laid out for both the nations.    "QUAD, we have progressed a lot and much of that is due to the fact that we've all devoted a lot of time, energy, attention to that. We have made it into concrete actionable propositions our teams have worked on...A big part of that is because we've strong bilateral relationships," Jaishankar said. "Certainly, for us, in this century the changing India-US relationship has really been a very defining development. So, I welcome the chance today to sit with you and look at our relationship and see how we can continue to take it forward in its positive trajectory, " he added. Source: R.REPUBLICWORLD.COM  

There was “certainly” a strong sentiment within the Quad that Afghanistan is a “high priority” and unity on the issue is very “pertinent”, Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Saturday. He added that many of the elements of Security Council resolution 2593 on Afghanistan are reflected in the Quad - the US, India, Australia and Japan -- joint statement. “Certainly within the Quad, there was a strong sentimentit is in the joint statement that the Quad has issued, that Afghanistan is a high priority,” Shringla said in response to a question by PTI at a press conference Saturday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the 76th session of the UN General Assembly. During their first in-person summit, the Quad leaders reaffirm that the Afghan territory should not be used to threaten or attack any country or to shelter or train terrorists, or to plan or to finance terrorist acts. They also reiterate the importance of combating terrorism in Afghanistan. “We stand together in support of Afghan nationals, and call on the Taliban to provide safe passage to any person wishing to leave Afghanistan, and to ensure that the human rights of all Afghans, including women, children, and minorities are respected,” the joint statement said. “This is, in some senses, a fairly accurate description of the conversation that took place among the leaders of the Quad group. And I think, unity when it comes to Afghanistan is very very pertinent and I think all the Quad leaders recognise that our interests converged,” Shringla said. Shringla highlighted that Modi, in his UNGA address, laid very strong emphasis on the international community speaking out in one voice and also taking responsibility for a number of issues, particularly the issue of the human rights of women, children and minorities. “I think that is an important issue from our perspective, it is an important issue from the perspective of the international community. If you look at what the international community is demanding of the ruling dispensation in Afghanistan,” it is encapsulated in UNSC resolution 2593, which was adopted under India’s presidency of the Council. The resolution demands that Afghanistan’s territory not be used for terrorism to the detriment of any of its neighbours or any other country. It also enjoins on them to respect the human rights of women, children and minorities and asked for unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance and also that there should be an inclusive, negotiated political settlement. “These are the basic requirements,” he said, adding that until and unless those requirements are met in part or in full, “the international community will continue to wait and watch the situation. For the international community, this is an important area of fulfilment.” Shringla said India will certainly work with its partners, both regional and global, in ensuring that many of these important aspects, including the evacuation of Afghan nationals who want to leave the country are fulfilled. “These are very important requirements and these are also in some sense commitments that the ruling dispensation had made as they first entered Kabul,” he said, adding that “we would like to see those obligations and commitments being fulfilled.” Source: Indian Today  

A day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for the US to attend the first in-person Quad leaders’ summit and meet US President Joe Biden, India in its first reaction to the Australia-UK-US (widely referred to as AUKUS) deal said the two are “not groupings of a similar nature” and since India is not a party to AUKUS, it is neither relevant nor will it have any impact on the Quad. This was spelt out by Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, while responding to questions on the possible impact of the AUKUS on the Quad. He sought to make it clear that while AUKUS is a “security alliance”, Quad is a “plurilateral grouping of like-minded countries that have a shared vision of their attributes and values”. Last week, the US, UK and Australia signed a new trilateral security alliance for the Indo-Pacific in an attempt to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the region. The pact, termed AUKUS, is expected to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines in a bid to counter China’s growing power in the strategically vital region. France, which lost out on a USD 65 billion submarine deal with Australia and had not been notified about the AUKUS alliance, reacted angrily and called it a “stab in the back”. Shringla’s comments come at a time when France’s anger and disappointment over the AUKUS deal has raised questions on the unity among “like-minded countries” over the Indo-Pacific strategy. “Quad and the AUKUS are not groupings of a similar nature…Quad is a plurilateral grouping – a group of countries that have a shared vision of their attributes and values. They also have a shared vision of the Indo-Pacific region as a free, open, transparent, inclusive region. The Quad has adopted a positive, proactive agenda with a wide range, and varied array, of initiatives at the global level to address some of the issues of the day. This includes dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, including the supply of vaccines to the Indo Pacific region. It includes working on new and emerging technologies, issues like climate change, infrastructure, maritime security, education, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. There’s a wide array of initiatives that the Quad has undertaken, which is designed to cater to the requirements of the Indo-Pacific region,” said Shringla. “On the other hand, AUKUS is a security alliance between three countries. We are not party to this alliance. From our perspective, this is neither relevant to the Quad, nor will it have any impact on its function,” he said. The French government’s statement said they reaffirmed their shared commitment to act jointly in an open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, including in the framework of the Europe-India relationship and European initiatives in the Indo-Pacific. “This approach aims to promote regional stability and the rule of law, while precluding any form of hegemony”, it said, with an oblique reference to Beijing. The two leaders also discussed regional issues, including recent developments in Afghanistan. In this context, the MEA statement said they “shared their concerns about the possible spread of terrorism, narcotics, illicit weapons and human trafficking, as well as the need to ensure human rights, rights of women and minorities.” The French statement said the two leaders expressed “grave concerns” about the situation in Afghanistan. “The authorities in power must cut their ties with international terrorism, allow humanitarian organisations to operate throughout the country and respect the fundamental rights of Afghan women and men. Evacuation operations should continue unhindered,” it said. Shringla, in his briefing, said the Afghanistan issue was also on the agenda of the Quad and bilateral meetings, along with terrorism. This will be the first meeting since the Taliban captured power in Afghanistan in mid-August. During their meeting on September 23, Shringla said, the two leaders will review the “robust and multifaceted” India-US bilateral relationship. “They will also discuss how the comprehensive strategic global partnership between our two countries can be enriched further. Besides attending the Quad summit on September 24, hosted by Biden and attended by Australian PM Scott Morrison and Japan’s outgoing PM Yoshihide Suga, Modi will also have bilateral meetings with all three leaders. Source: The Indian Express