Japanese PM Kishida at Quad Summit: 'Listen to voices of Asean, South Asia, Indo-Pacific'

While stating that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has "fundamentally shaken ruled-based international order", Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in his opening remarks at the Quad summit on Tuesday called upon the international community to listen to the voices of the Asean, South Asian and Indo-Pacific countries.

Kishida stressed the broad-based practical cooperation between the member countries to further the shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

"A grave incident which has fundamentally shaken the rules-based international order has taken place since we met last September. The Russian invasion of Ukraine challenges the principles which are enshrined in the United Nations Charter. We should never ever allow a similar incident to happen in the Indo-Pacific region," PM Kishida said.

He also urged the international community to listen to the voices of Asia. "We should also listen to the voices of the country in the Asean, South Asia as well as the Pacific Island countries so as to further advance corporation in solving issues facing the region," PM Kishida said.

The Japanese Prime Minister appreciated the Quad Leaders' meet and its commitment to the core values of the grouping. PM Kishida hailed the Quad grouping and highlighted its importance to ensure that the Indo-Pacific region does not witness similar challenges as erupted in Eastern Europe with Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

PM Kishida spoke extensively on the Quad commitments in securing a free and open Indo-Pacific region. "It is crucial for us to get together and show the international community that the four countries' solidarity and firm commitment towards the shared vision of free and open Indo-Pacific," he added.

The discussion on new areas of cooperation such as assisting in regional climate change, maritime domain awareness as well as humanitarian aid, and disaster relief are also on agenda, the Japanese PM said during the meeting.

Japanese Prime Minister welcomed the other leaders of Quad member countries in Tokyo for the leaders level meeting. PM Kishida congratulated the newly-elected Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese.

The meeting of Quadrilateral Dialogue (Quad) kicked off in Tokyo on Tuesday to review the progress made by the four-member countries.

The Summit in Tokyo is the fourth interaction of Quad Leaders since their first virtual meeting in March 2021, in-person Summit in Washington D.C. in September 2021, and virtual meeting in March 2022.

The Quad cooperation is anchored in the shared values of democracy, international law, and rules-based international order and a vision for a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
Quad's cooperation efforts have included working together on climate action.

Quad's Infrastructure Coordination Group has been deliberating on supporting sustainable and demand-driven infrastructure in the region in a manner that doesn't burden countries of the region with unsustainable debt. Cooperation on critical and security of critical cyber infrastructure are other key priority areas of cooperative measures in the Quad.

(ANI)