The four-nation grouping Quad on Monday called for concerted action against all UN-listed terrorist groups, including LeT, JeM and their proxy outfits as it urged all countries to take immediate, sustained and irreversible action to prevent their territory from being used for terrorist purposes, in a veiled reference to Pakistan.
In a joint statement issued after the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting here, the Quad Ministers “unequivocally” condemned terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms including cross-border terrorism.
“We strongly reiterate our condemnation of terrorist attacks, including the 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks and call for bringing the perpetrators of these attacks to justice without delay,” said the statement from the grouping comprising India, the US, Japan and Australia.
The Ministers deplored the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), drones, tunnels and information and communication technologies by terrorists and terrorist entities.
The Quad urged all countries to take immediate, sustained and irreversible action to prevent territory under their control from being used for terrorist purposes.
“We reiterate the call for concerted action against all UN-listed terrorist groups including Al-Qaeda, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar e-Toiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and their proxy groups,” it said, without naming any country.
Pakistan has been repeatedly accused by its neighbours of providing safe havens to terrorist groups including Al-Qaeda, JeM, LeT and their proxy groups.
The Quad member states said they were committed to working together to promote accountability for the perpetrators of terrorist attacks and support implementation including through domestic designations of UN Security Council resolutions as they pertain to sanctions.
“We are committed to international cooperation and working together with our international and regional partners in a comprehensive and sustained manner to strengthen their capacity to prevent, detect and respond to threats posed by terrorism and violent extremism including threats posed by the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes,” the joint statement said.
The Quad Foreign Ministers welcomed the fruitful discussions held at the first Quad Working Group on Counter-Terrorism meeting and the fourth tabletop exercise in Honolulu in December 2023 and looked forward to Japan hosting the next meeting and tabletop exercise in November 2024.
Meanwhile, in a loud and clear message to China, the Quad on Monday reaffirmed its steadfast commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and resolved to work towards a region where no country dominates others and each state is free from “coercion” in all its forms.
The Quad also said that it was working for early operationalisation of its South Asia programme through India’s Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region.
The Quad Foreign Ministerial meeting also called for upholding the free and open rules-based global order and respecting the principle of freedom, human rights, democratic values, sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations.
Without directly naming China, the ministers expressed serious concern over the situation in the East and South China Seas and reiterated the Quad’s strong opposition to any “unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion.”
The meeting was attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
“All countries have a role in contributing to regional peace, stability, and prosperity, while seeking a region in which no country dominates and no country is dominated, competition is managed responsibly, and each country is free from coercion in all its forms and can exercise its agency to determine its own future,” the ministers said in a joint statement.
It said the Quad continues to advance the development of a “trusted, secure and robust” telecommunication network, and announced a plan to roll out Open Radio Access Networks (Open RAN) in island nation Palau.
In his remarks at a press conference, Jaishankar said the Quad is not a “talk shop” but a platform that generates practical outcomes.
In their statement, the Quad Foreign Ministers also expressed “deepest concern over the war raging in Ukraine including its terrible and tragic humanitarian consequences.”
“We reiterate the need for a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in line with international law, consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity,” they said.
The Quad Foreign Ministers also referred to increasing Chinese manoeuvres in the South China Sea, especially the “dangerous use” of coast guard and maritime militia vessels.
“We continue to express our serious concern about the militarisation of disputed features, and coercive and intimidating manoeuvres in the South China Sea, ” the joint statement said.
“We also express our serious concern about the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels, the increasing use of various kinds of dangerous manoeuvres, and efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation activities,” it said.
