Senior officials of the ‘quad’ countries — India, Japan, US and Australia — met on the sidelines of an ASEAN senior officials’ meeting

NEW DELHI: The ‘Quadrilateral’ met for the second time on Thursday in Singapore, cementing a relationship with the Indo-Pacific at its core.

As first reported by TOI, senior officials of the ‘quad’ countries — India, Japan, US and Australia — met on the sidelines of an ASEAN senior officials’ meeting. A statement by the MEA at the end of day said, “The participants considered ways to pursue shared objectives in the areas of connectivity and development; regional security, including counter-terrorism and non-proliferation; HADR (humanitarian assistance and disaster relief) and maritime cooperation.”

Like the last time, all four countries came out with their own statements, rather than a joint one. However, despite the separate statements, the countries used almost identical language and emphasis. Convergence between the four is growing, but they remain a distance away from coming out with a joint statement, which could potentially spook China.

While the Indian side stressed an “inclusive” Indo-Pacific as highlighted by PM Narendra Modi at this week’s Shangri-La Dialogue, the emphasis on a “free and open Indo-Pacific” is a nod to Japan’s view. The Japanese statement defined the Indo-Pacific as a region where “all countries respect sovereignty and international law, freedom of navigation and overflight, and sustainable development.”

India was represented by joint secretary (East Asia) Pranay Verma and joint secretary (America) Munu Mahawar at the meeting.

Australia’s statement emphasised the same keywords of the other countries — which means that despite separate statements there is growing convergence between the four countries on the strategy. “The officials reaffirmed the four countries’ commitment to deepen cooperation on the basis of shared democratic values and principles. They confirmed their resolve to uphold and strengthen the rulesbased order in the Indo-Pacific. Meeting participants discussed ways to achieve shared goals, including in development and connectivity; good governance; regional security, including counter-terrorism and WMD proliferation; and maritime cooperation.”

The US in its statement, “reaffirmed shared support for a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region where all countries respect sovereignty, international law, including with respect to freedom of navigation and overflight, and sustainable development”.

Upholding the centrality of ASEAN, the US said it would focus on “development and connectivity; good governance; regional security, including counter-terrorism and non-proliferation; and maritime cooperation.”

An important addition to the deliberations is the focus on the “centrality of ASEAN.” China’s activities in the region have taken a “divide and rule” approach, by persuading countries like Cambodia, Laos and Brunei to play a different role in ASEAN in the past few years to the extent that ASEAN was beginning to question itself.