The four members of the Quad are a force of good and are more strategically aligned than ever before, a joint declaration issued after a meeting of the group’s leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said.
Hosted by President Joe Biden, the Quad Leaders Summit was held Saturday in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware. It was attended by Prime Minister Modi, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan.
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“Four years since raising the Quad to a leadership-level format, the Quad is more strategically aligned than ever and is a force for good that has a real, positive, and lasting impact on the Indo-Pacific,” said the published Wilmington Declaration. after four in-person Quad Summit.
“We celebrate the fact that in just four years, the Quad countries have built an important and durable regional grouping that will support the Indo-Pacific for decades to come,” the declaration said.
“As the four leading maritime democracies in the Indo-Pacific, we firmly stand to maintain peace and stability in this dynamic region, an essential element for global security and prosperity,” he said, adding that the group strongly opposes destabilization or unilateralism. actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion, in a veiled reference to China.
China is involved in heated territorial disputes in the South China Sea and the East China Sea.
It claims sovereignty over the entire South China Sea. Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan have counterclaims.
“We condemn the illegal launch of missiles in the area in violation of the resolutions of the UN Security Council. We express our serious concern about dangerous and aggressive actions in the maritime area. We seek an area where no country dominates and no country dominates – which all countries are free from coercion, and can exercise agency to determine the future,” the declaration said.
The four countries are committed to uphold a “stable and open” international system, with strong support for human rights, the principle of freedom, the rule of law, democratic values, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the peaceful settlement of disputes and restrictions. the threat or use of force under international law, including the UN Charter.
The leaders announced the Quad Cancer Moonshot, a breakthrough partnership to save lives in the Indo-Pacific region.
“Building on the Quad’s successful partnership during the COVID-19 pandemic, our collective investment in tackling cancer in the region, scientific and medical capabilities, and contributions from the private and non-profit sectors, we will work with partner countries to reduce the burden of cancer in the region,” he said.
The Quad Cancer Moonshot will focus initially on fighting cervical cancer – a preventable cancer that continues to claim so many lives – in the Indo-Pacific region while laying the groundwork to tackle other forms of cancer.
India has committed to provide $7.5 million worth of Human papillomavirus (HPV) sampling kits, detection kits, and cervical cancer vaccines to the Indo-Pacific region.
Prime Minister Modi, announcing the grant, emphasized that it was made in accordance with India’s vision of ‘One Earth, One Heath’.
India, through a $10 million commitment to WHO’s Global Initiative on Digital Health, will provide technical assistance to interested countries in the Indo-Pacific region for the adoption and deployment of Digital Public Infrastructure that aids in cancer screening and treatment.
QUAD countries announced a new regional Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific (MAITRI), so that partners in the region can make the most of the tools provided through Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) and other Quad partner initiatives to monitor and secure. water, enforce the law, and prevent illegal activities.
“We look forward to India hosting the inaugural MAITRI workshop in 2025. Furthermore, we welcome the opening of the Quad maritime legal dialogue to support efforts to uphold the maritime rule-based framework in the Indo-Pacific. In addition, the Quad partners aim to layer technology and data new to IPMDA next year to continue to deliver advanced capabilities and information to the region,” the declaration said.
QUAD countries also announced that the US Coast Guard, Japan Coast Guard, Australian Border Force, and Indian Coast Guard plan to launch the first Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission in 2025, to improve interoperability and advance maritime security and continue. with further missions in the future in the Indo-Pacific.
He also announced the launch of the Quad Indo-Pacific Logistics Network pilot project to leverage airlift capacity among the four countries and use collective logistics power to support civilian responses to natural disasters faster and more efficiently in the Indo-Pacific region.
Announcing the Quad Ports of the Future Partnership, which will use the group’s expertise to support the development of sustainable and sustainable port infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific in collaboration with regional partners, the declaration stated that they intend to hold the Quad Region Ports and Transport Conference, hosted by India in Mumbai.
“Through this new partnership, the Quad partners aim to coordinate, exchange information, share best practices with partners in the region, and use resources to expand government and private sector investment in quality port infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific region, ” said the joint statement. .
Applauding the expansion of Quad Infrastructure Fellowships to more than 2,200 experts, the declaration notes that Quad partners have provided more than 1,300 fellowships since the initiative was announced at the Summit last year.
Furthermore, the four countries hope to launch the Quad BioExplore Initiative – a funded mechanism that will support AI-powered exploration of non-human biological data together in all four countries. The project will also be supported by the upcoming Quad Principles for Research and Development Collaboration in Critical and Emerging Technologies, the joint declaration said.
This year’s Quad Leaders Summit was previously supposed to be held in India, but President Biden wants to hold the event in his hometown.
The US, Japan, India, and Australia in 2017 gave shape to a long-delayed proposal to set up a “Quad” or Quadrilateral coalition to counter China’s aggressive behavior in the Indo-Pacific region.
The four members of the Quad, or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, advocate for a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific. China claims that the group aims to contain the rise.
Published – 22 September 2024 08:30 IST