With eye on China, Quad commits to strengthen 'free & open Indo-Pacific', Pg8

Key Highlights:

• The Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting was held in Manila on Wednesday.
• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi attended the meeting.
• The ministers committed to strengthening a free and open Indo-Pacific and reaffirmed support for ASEAN centrality.
• The discussions focused on peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific maritime domain, implicitly addressing China's assertive behavior.

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Detailed Insights:

• The meeting reaffirmed the Quad members' status as ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partners.
• Discussions covered regional challenges and opportunities to support the practical implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP).
• Key areas of cooperation identified include maritime and transnational security, economic prosperity and security, critical and emerging technologies, and humanitarian assistance and emergency response.
• Japan's Foreign Minister Motegi expressed strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion.
• The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized that the Quad remains a priority for the United States.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Quad: An informal strategic dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States, aimed at promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific.
• Indo-Pacific: A geopolitical concept emphasizing the interconnectedness of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean regions.
• ASEAN Centrality: The principle that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should be at the core of regional cooperation and architecture.
• ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP): ASEAN's framework for engagement in the Indo-Pacific, promoting an inclusive, rules-based regional order.