Quad calls for respecting sovereignty

Tokyo: 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 grouping comprising India, the US, Japan and Australia, after a meeting of their foreign ministers, announced a plan to expand its ambitious Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) programme to the Indian Ocean region that would facilitate monitoring the strategic waters.

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."