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WASHINGTON — The Quad, a four-member group comprising the US, Japan, India, and Australia, has said it is committed to strengthening cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region.
The Wilmington Declaration, released after the meeting of Quad leaders US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Delaware, recognised India's leadership in finalising the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (IOIP) and supported its implementation.
Quad agreed to implement the 'Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific (MAITRI) to monitor and secure waters, enforce laws, and deter unlawful behaviour.
To reduce the number of lives lost to cancer in the Indo-Pacific, the group launched a 'Quad Cancer Moonshot' focussing initially on combatting cervical cancer.
The joint statement announced a 'Quad Ports of the Future Partnership' to support sustainable and resilient port infrastructure development across the Indo-Pacific.
Expressing concern about the coercive and intimidating manoeuvres in the South China Sea, the Quad sought to uphold the international order based on the rule of law, particularly as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to address challenges to the global maritime rules-based order,
The group said: "We are united in commitment to upholding a stable and open international system, with strong support for human rights, freedom, the rule of law, democratic values, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and peaceful settlement of disputes and prohibition on the threat or use of force in accordance with international law, including the UN Charter."
In addition, the leaders underscored that the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea is a significant milestone and the basis for peacefully resolving disputes between the parties.
Hailing the track record of cooperation on the COVID vaccine, the group said it will focus initially on combatting cervical cancer in the Indo-Pacific region.
On humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), the declaration said Quad governments pre-position essential relief supplies for the rapid HADR response.
In the event of natural disasters in the Indo-Pacific, the group concurred on launching a pilot project to pursue cooperation in airlift operations among the Quad countries.
The four leaders concurred on launching a Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission in 2025, to share knowledge and experience.
My remarks at the Quad Leaders' Cancer Moonshot event. https://t.co/Q9avnKJVs6
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 21, 2024
The group also agreed to expand cooperation in the area of 5G and Open RAN to the Philippines and Tuvalu.
Quad nations to align their coast guards in new initiative
The Quad member countries India, the US, Japan and Australia on Saturday announced a slew of new initiatives on maritime security including the first-ever interoperability exercise among their coast guards.
In a document titled the Wellington Declaration issued after their fourth in-person summit in President Joe Biden's hometown Wellington in Delaware state, they also expressed concern "over recent dangerous and aggressive actions in the maritime domain", a reference to ongoing Chinese aggressive behaviour in the South China Sea.
The newly announced cooperation between the coast guards will be marked by the first-ever Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission in 2025 to "improve interoperability and advance maritime safety, and continuing with further missions in future years across the Indo-Pacific".
The leaders of the four nations also announced the launch of a new regional Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific (MAITRI), "to enable our partners in the region to maximize tools provided through IPMDA and other Quad partner initiatives, to monitor and secure their waters, enforce their laws, and deter unlawful behaviour". India will host the inaugural MAITRI workshop in 2025.
They also launched a Quad maritime legal dialogue to "support efforts to uphold the rules-based maritime order in the Indo-Pacific. In addition, Quad partners intend to layer new technology and data into IPMDA over the coming year, to continue to deliver cutting-edge capability and information to the region".
Yet another new initiative on maritime security was a Quad Indo-Pacific Logistics Network pilot project, to "pursue shared airlift capacity among our nations and leverage our collective logistics strengths, in order to support civilian response to natural disasters more rapidly and efficiently across the Indo-Pacific region".
The four leaders also committed their governments to the Quad Cancer Moonshot that will initially target cervical cancer. India will provide testing kits worth $7.5 million and technical assistance. Other countries announced their own contributions.
Cancer cure has been a personal ambition of US President Joe Biden who lost his eldest son to brain cancer. He led a White House initiative called the Cancer Moonshot programme as Vice President to President Barack Obama and as President himself.
The leaders also cleared the expansion of ongoing initiatives on infrastructure, emerging technologies, climate and clean energy, cyber, space and people-to-people engagements.