NEW YORK: Noting that the four Quad countries have a common vision that there should be a free and prosperous Indo-Pacific, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti has said that the group is about finding solutions to common challenges and standing up for principles that not every country shares.
In an interview with ANI, Garcetti said that Quad is a powerful place to set a vision, to share principles and to come up with common solutions. US President Joe Biden hosted the sixth Quad Summit at his home town in Wilmington, Delaware, and it was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Garcetti said Quad is about common vision of four countries and the joint declaration issued at the end of Summit speaks of cooperation in a range of areas including disaster assistance and supply chains.
“It’s not about any one nation. It’s really about these four nations and this common vision that there should be a free open, prosperous Indo-Pacific and if you look at the declaration, it underscores that from cooperating together on health care, whether it’s security and making sure our coast guards can act with each other in a way during a humanitarian disaster that can keep our people safe and protected or whether it’s looking at economic development of things like supply chains to make sure no one country can throttle those supply chains in critical minerals,” he said.
He said nobody should feel threatened by Quad. “We put a billion dollars together between just US and India to find climate solutions when we have almost 900 million people who are climate-vulnerable in our two countries. So of course, other countries will look in but nobody should feel threatened by the Quad. But the Quad is about standing up for principles that not every country shares. It is about finding solutions to common challenges that not everybody is doing in a multilateral way and I think it is inspiring the world. The Quad doesn’t just work in four countries, we are looking at the entire region and how we can give something to everyone,” he added.
Garcetti said Quad is not a military alliance looking to project power and is looking to preserve peace. “There’s no question that security and peace is the most important thing for any country and for all of our people. So whether it’s the new announcement on Coast Guard integration and having our crews work together or whether it’s the hub to allow some of our military planes and things like that to be able to interoperate, be fixed in each other’s countries that show interoperability to protect our people, but it is not first and foremost, some sort of military alliance looking to project power, it is looking to preserve peace and to make sure that we have prosperity for the entire plan,” he said.
“In the Indo-Pacific, it’s a contrast to nations that don’t want to play by the rules, don’t believe in the rule of law, but I think it will build solutions. It’s about what we can do proactively and this was a giant step forward, ” he added.
The joint declaration issued by the Quad countries said they are seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas. They expressed serious concern about the militarisation of disputed features, and coercive and intimidating maneuvers in the South China Sea.
“As Leaders, we are steadfast in 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 sustainable 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. We are seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas. We continue to express our serious concern about the militarization of disputed features, and coercive and intimidating maneuvers in the South China Sea,” the Joint Statement said.
Quad members said that maritime disputes must be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law, as reflected in UNCLOS. “We condemn the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels, including increasing use of dangerous maneuvers. We also oppose efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation activities. We reaffirm that maritime disputes must be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law, as reflected in UNCLOS. We re-emphasize the importance of maintaining and upholding freedom of navigation and overflight, other lawful uses of the sea, and unimpeded commerce consistent with international law,” the Joint Statement said.
“We re-emphasize the universal and unified character of UNCLOS and reaffirm that UNCLOS sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and the seas must be carried out. We underscore that the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea is a significant milestone and the basis for peacefully resolving disputes between the parties,” it said.
Together, with our global and regional partners, we continue to support international institutions and initiatives that underpin global peace, prosperity and sustainable development. We reiterate our unwavering support for the UN Charter and the three pillars of the UN system. In consultation with our partners, we will work collectively to address attempts to unilaterally undermine the integrity of the UN, its Charter, and its agencies,” the statement added.
The Quad Summit was held on September 21, the first day of PM Modi’s three-day visit to the United States. (With inputs from ANI)
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