Quad Foreign Ministers Agree to Deepen Cooperation with ASEAN

Tokyo, July 22 (Jiji Press)–The foreign ministers from the Quad countries of Japan, Australia, India and the United States agreed Wednesday to strengthen their cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations amid China’s increasing assertiveness. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met in Manila, shortly after their discussions in India in May, aiming to deepen their cooperation and build momentum for an early summit among Quad leaders. The four ministers shared views on the situations in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. Motegi voiced opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status-quo by force or coercion, apparently keeping China in mind. He also expressed deep concern over export restrictions on critical minerals. In a statement adopted at the meeting, the ministers stressed the Quad nations’ stance of offering support for maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region as ASEAN’s “comprehensive strategic partners.” Later on Wednesday, Motegi and Rubio held a meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun. The three reaffirmed their countries’ commitment to jointly responding to nuclear and missile development by North Korea as well as military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. They also agreed to enhance Japan-U.S.-South Korea collaboration on economic security. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]