Quad strongly opposes 'unilateral' actions seeking to increase tensions in Indo-Pacific

The leaders of India, Australia, Japan and the United States on Tuesday 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.

During the second in-person meeting of Quad leaders here, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Australia's newly-elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese exchanged views about developments in the Indo-Pacific region and global issues of mutual interest.

"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.

The 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 in 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.