Japan's PM Kishida avers QUAD playing key role in promoting free and open Indo-Pacific

The QUAD group, which includes the United States, India, Japan, and Australia, is playing an important role in promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific, according to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who urged like-minded countries to increase their investment in the strategically important region in the face of China's growing belligerence. Kishida arrived in Singapore on June 10 to make the keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's largest defence conference.

He stated that during their latest meeting in Tokyo in May, the leaders of the QUAD or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue promised to spend more than USD 50 billion on infrastructure assistance and investment in the Indo-Pacific over the next five years, which will be critical for the region's prosperity. In addition to ASEAN and Pacific countries, QUAD members are significant players in advocating a free and open Indo-Pacific, according to Kishida.

He further stressed the importance of like-minded countries cooperating to expand resource investment in the region, calling for economic and security cooperation. In May, the QUAD leaders unveiled a major new Indo-Pacific effort that allows partner countries to thoroughly monitor the waters off their shores and contribute to regional peace and stability, a move that comes despite China's increasingly aggressive behaviour.

QUAD leaders announced implementation of IPMDA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida, and his Australian colleague Anthony Albanese announced the implementation of the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) at the close of the second in-person QUAD meeting. 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 in order to promote stability and prosperity, according to a joint statement by the four leaders.

The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, promising to work daily to bring tangible benefits for the area. In his keynote speech, the Japanese Prime Minister discussed the Kishida Vision for Peace, which aims to bolster Japan's diplomacy and security. In the face of China's increased military manoeuvres in the resource-rich region, India, the United States, and a number of other world powers have discussed the importance of ensuring a free, open, and vibrant Indo-Pacific.

Image: AP