China, Ukraine figure prominently in Quad foreign ministers meet in New Delhi

Terrorism, Myanmar, Ukraine and the South China Sea figured prominently in the Quad meeting of foreign ministers of host India, Australia, Japan and the United States that took place in New Delhi on Friday morning.

The foreign ministers were meeting on the sidelines of theG-20 Finance Ministers’ meeting in southern Bengaluru city, which is also being hosted by India. In the communiqué, the Quad members sharpened their focus on Ukraine but avoided mentioning Russia.

On Ukraine

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The statement said that the Quad countries underscoredthe need for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine in accordance with international law, including the UN Charter.

“We continued to discuss our responses to the conflict in Ukraine and the immense human suffering it is causing and concurred that the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible. We emphasised that the rules-based international order must respect sovereignty, territorial integrity, transparency and peaceful resolution of disputes,” the communique read.

On China

The Quad members expressed concern over the militarisation of waters around China in the backdrop of a flare-up in tensions between Washington and Beijing.

In a joint statement, the group called for "the importance of adherence to international law" in the East and South China Seas "to meet challenges to the maritime rules-based order".

The statement did not explicitly name China, which has repeatedly accused the United States of spearheading the Quad to encircle the rising Asian power.

"We strongly oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo or increase tensions in the area," it said.

India: Quad meet on developments in the Indo-Pacific and regional issues

"We express serious concern at the militarisation of disputed features, the dangerous use of coast guard vessels and maritime militia and efforts to disrupt other countries' offshore resource exploitation activities," it added.

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually.

On terrorism

The Quad countries also reiterated their condemnation of terrorist attacks, including 26/11 Mumbai, which claimed lives of citizens from all Quadcountries, and the Pathankot attack, in which seven security personnel were killed.

Without naming Pakistan, the joint statement sought accountability for the perpetrators of such terrorist attacks, including through designations by the UN Security Council 1267 Sanctions Committee.

We unequivocally condemn terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations. We denounce the use of terrorist proxies and emphasize the importance of denying any logistical, financial or military support to terrorist organisations which could be used to launch or plan terrorist attacks, including transnational and cross-border attacks.”

“We express our concern at attempts to politicise the working of the UNSC Sanctions Regimes and call on all states to maintain the transparent, objective and evidence based working methods of UNSC Sanctions Committees.”

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