TOKYO: The foreign ministers of the Quad countries of Japan, the United States, Australia and India Monday expressed opposition to unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force in the East China Sea and South China Sea.

“We are seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas and reiterate our strong opposition to any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion,” the four ministers said in a statement after a meeting in Tokyo, apparently referring to China’s assertiveness.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar agreed to cooperate in maintaining and strengthening the free and open maritime order.

“We will promote comprehensive cooperation in areas, from maritime domain awareness to on-site law enforcement,” Kamikawa told a joint press conference after the first meeting of the Quad foreign ministers since September last year.

In the joint statement, the ministers reaffirmed their “commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.” They emphasized the importance of adherence to international law to “address challenges to the global maritime rules-based order.” They expressed serious concern about “coercive and intimidating maneuvers in the South China Sea.”

The Quad ministers condemned “North Korea’s destabilizing launches using ballistic missile technology and its continued pursuit of nuclear weapons in violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.”

The ministers expressed “deepest concern over the war raging in Ukraine” and shared “the view that the use, or threat of use, of nuclear weapons is unacceptable.”

Referring to the Israeli-Hamas war, the ministers underscored “the need to prevent the conflict from escalating and spilling over in the region.”

JIJI Press