Quad foreign ministers likely to meet in Tokyo on July 28

Foreign ministers of the four Quad member states are expected to meet in Japan at the end of this month to take stock of initiatives and projects in diverse fields and to prepare for the summit meeting of leaders, people familiar with the matter said.

Aircraft carriers and warships from India, US, Japan and Australia during a joint exercise in the Northern Arabian Sea. (AP File Photo)

Planning for the meeting, expected to be held in Tokyo on July 28, has been underway for some time and the process was linked to the conclusion of India’s general elections, the people said on condition of anonymity. Besides the work being done by several Quad working groups, the foreign ministers will review the situation across the Indo-Pacific, the people said.

The foreign ministers of Quad, comprising India, Australia, Japan and the US, last met on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly last September. Ahead of the meeting in Tokyo, senior officials of the four countries met by video conference on July 3 to review progress made by various working groups since the Quad Summit in May 2023 and several meetings of foreign ministers held last year.

The officials discussed new ideas to take forward Quad’s collaboration in the Indo-Pacific in enhancing maritime domain awareness, countering terrorism, enhancing telecommunication resiliency through undersea cable connectivity, health security, digital public infrastructure and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

“The focus is practical cooperation in different fields among the four countries to realise the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” one of the people cited above said, referring to China’s continuing aggressive actions across the region.

In this context, the people referred to the growing confrontation between Chinese maritime forces and the Philippines in the South China Sea since last year. Chinese vessels have been accused by the Philippines of unsafe behaviour on a dozen occasions, often within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). India has backed the Philippines in recent weeks, saying it opposes destabilising actions that seek to change the status quo by force.

The people, however, said uncertainty continues to surround the date for this year’s Quad Summit, which is to be hosted by India. After inviting US President Joe Biden to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations on January 26, New Delhi had originally planned to hold the Quad Summit the following day. This plan fell through when Biden declined the invitation.

The Indian side was keen to hold the summit by August, but the people said this now appears unlikely because the US administration’s main focus is the presidential election. “Australia and Japan have indicated their flexibility regarding the summit being held in the coming weeks or months, but it is really up to the US,” a second person said.

The people said it was now looking more likely that the summit will be held sometime after the US presidential election on November 5.