Calling for justice for the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai (2008) and the Pathankot airbase attack (2016) for the first time since the group was formed, the Foreign Ministers of Australia, India, Japan and the U.S. said the Quad was already cooperating on sharing intelligence on threats in the Indo-Pacific region.
The group of Ministers, who held their fourth Quad Ministerial meeting in Melbourne on Friday, also resolved to speed up delivery of more than a billion COVID-19 vaccines to be manufactured in India, to hold a special meet on climate change this year, and to step up efforts to ensure maritime security in the region.
“We call on all countries to ensure that territory under their control is not used to launch terror attacks and to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of such attacks,” said a joint statement issued at the end of talks between the Foreign Ministers. “We reiterate our condemnation of terrorist attacks in India, including 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks,” it added.
The statement also made a veiled reference to China’s actions in the South and East China seas, reaffirming a commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, “in which states strive to protect the interests of their people, free from coercion”.
While the countries committed to stronger cooperation on Indo-Pacific initiatives, divisions appeared in their stand on global developments such as Russia-NATO tensions over Ukraine and sanctions against Myanmar’s military, as External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar expressed an independent line during a press conference held after the meeting.
Comments
Post a Comment