US, Australia, India and Japan have made important strides to advance free and open Indo-Pacific: Blinken

Washington, DC [US], May 20 (ANI): US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the US, Australia, India and Japan have made important strides to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific. Blinken said that Quad has improved internet connectivity in the region, helped prevent cyber-attacks and invested in the next generation of STEM leaders.
In a post on X, Blinken stated, "Since the Quad Leaders Summit, the US, Australia, India, and Japan have made important strides to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific. The Quad has improved internet connectivity in the region, helped prevent cyber attacks, and invested in the next generation of STEM leaders."
Earlier in 2023, US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in Hiroshima for the fifth convening of the Quad Leaders' Summit.
Quad is a diplomatic partnership between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States committed to supporting an open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient, according to Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and trade.
The positive and practical agenda of Quad is focused on delivering outcomes for the Indo-Pacific, in response to the region's priorities and most pressing challenges, including health security, climate change, infrastructure, critical and emerging technology, cyber security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, space, maritime security, countering disinformation, and counter-terrorism.
Earlier this month, Australia's High Commissioner to India, Philip Green OAM, emphasised that there are no plans to increase 'Quad' membership, adding that it is "very important" for the countries to frame their relations with China.
Addressing an interactive event "Diplomat Diaries", hosted by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in the national capital, Green emphasised the need to have clarity on Quad membership.
"I think we need to be really clear that the Quad is the quad, four members. There are no plans that I know to increase the membership," he said.
He further said that it is "very important" for the Quad member countries to choose to frame their relations with China.
"In my talk, I use the term sovereignty a lot. And for us, it's very important that states in our region have the opportunity to make sovereign choices about their own destinies in ways that are uncoerced and without undue influence on others," Green added.
Moreover, the Australian envoy stressed especially that for those leaders who are democratically elected, it is important to make the choices that seem appropriate to them.
"So it's for the leaders of those countries, especially those that are democratically elected, like those of the Solomon Islands, to make the choices that seem appropriate to them," he said.
Earlier in April, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an interview with Newsweek, said that the Indo-Pacific region is the engine of global trade, innovation and growth and the security of the Indo-Pacific is important not only to the region but to the world.
Answering a query on China and the Quad, he said the US, Australia, Japan, India, and China, all these countries are members of many groups.
"We are present in different combinations in different groups. Quad is not aimed against any country. Like many other international groupings, like SCO, BRICS and others, Quad is also a group of like-minded countries working on a shared positive agenda," he said. (ANI)