Quad Foreign Ministers Announce Formation of Working Group on Counter Terrorism

New Delhi:

The foreign ministers of the Quad countries today reaffirmed the grouping’s commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and said it strongly supports the rule of law, sovereignty, territorial integrity and peaceful resolution of disputes.

After External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi and Australia’s Penny Wong met, it was announced that a counter-terrorism committee would be set up to explore measures to counter new and emerging forms of terrorism. A quad working group will be set up on this. Terrorism, radicalization and violent extremism.

The ministers vowed to work together to align and complement the Quad’s agenda with Japan’s G7 presidency, India’s G20 presidency and the United States’ APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) “host year” in 2023. Chasm.

After the meeting, the four ministers participated in a session of the Raisina Dialogue and talked extensively about the convergence of interests of the Quad member countries.

“The future for us is very much in the Indo-Pacific region. Our engagement across the region, through the Quad and in other ways, is as broad and as deep as I can remember,” Blinken said.

While Mr. Blinken and Ms. Wong were in India to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, Mr. Hayashi came to Delhi to attend the Quad meeting.

In a joint statement after the Quad meeting, the ministers said the meeting reaffirmed the Quad’s “resolute” commitment to supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient.

The Quad’s foreign ministers also “unequivocally” condemned terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms, and condemned the use of terrorist proxy and financial or military support for terrorist organizations that may be used to launch or plan terrorist attacks. including international and cross-border attacks. ,

They condemned terrorist attacks including the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, in which citizens of all the Quad countries lost their lives, and the Pathankot attacks.

“We strongly support the principles of independence, rule of law, sovereignty and territorial integrity, peaceful resolution of disputes without threat or use of force and freedom of navigation and overflight, and strive to change the status quo oppose any unilateral effort, all of which are essential to peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.”

The foreign ministers said the Quad is serving as “a force for regional and global good”, and will be guided by the priorities of the Indo-Pacific region through its positive and constructive agenda.

“We are pleased to announce the establishment of the Quad Working Group on Counterterrorism, which will facilitate cooperation between the Quad and Indo-Pacific partners to combat new and emerging forms of terrorism, violence and radicalization to violent extremism will find out.” he said in the statement.

“We look forward to its first meeting in the United States in 2023 to continue our discussions on this global issue.” The Quad foreign ministerial meeting took place months before the grouping’s summit in Australia, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with other leaders.

The statement said the Quad seeks to support the region through practical cooperation on contemporary challenges such as health security, climate change and the clean energy transition, critical and emerging technologies, infrastructure and connectivity.

It also talked about addressing the debt crisis through sustainable, transparent and fair lending and financing practices.

“We agree that the rules-based international order is anchored in international law, including the United Nations Charter, and the principles of sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of all states,” it said.

“We remain committed to cooperating in consultation with our partners and through multilateral and international fora to address efforts to unilaterally undermine the United Nations and the international system,” the statement said.

The Quad foreign ministers said they committed to working closely with regional and international partners to promote accountability for perpetrators of terrorist attacks, including designation by the 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council.

“In this regard, we express our concern at attempts to politicize the functioning of UNSC sanctions regimes and call on all states to uphold the transparent, objective and evidence-based working methods of UNSC sanctions committees,” the statement said. Are.”

It said the ministers noted with deep concern that terrorism is spreading rapidly, aided by terrorists’ adaptation and use of emerging and evolving technologies such as Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and the Internet.

The Quad foreign ministers noted the importance of promoting freedom of navigation and overflight and the safety and security of sea lines of communication, without making any direct reference to Chinese assertiveness in the East and South China Seas.

“We look forward to continuing these discussions at the Quad Maritime Security Working Group meeting hosted by the United States in Washington DC in March 2023. In this context, we under the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) Welcome the progress,” it said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)