Warning against the use of new technologies by terrorists, the Quad foreign ministers have reiterated their call for concrete international action against Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), as well as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State organisation.
Following their meeting in Tokyo, the Quad ministers said in a joint statement on Monday that they were committed to working with international and regional partners to prevent “threats posed by the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes”.
“We reiterate the call for concerted action against all UN-listed terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and their proxy groups,” External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said in their statement.
“We condemn the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), drones, tunnels and information and communication technologies by terrorists and terrorist entities,” he said.
Recalling the 26/11 Mumbai and 2016 Pathankot terror attacks, he called for “bringing the perpetrators of these attacks to justice without delay”.
The ministers said there were “fruitful discussions” at the first meeting of the Quad working group on counter-terrorism at the ministerial level held in New Delhi last year and at the fourth tabletop exercise held in Honolulu in December. They said they were looking forward to the next exercise to be hosted by Japan in November.
The tabletop exercise considers scenarios to develop a response to a major terrorist incident in the Indo-Pacific region.
The 4,000-word joint statement ranged from the conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine to China’s regional threats to cooperation on undersea cable connectivity and the environment.
On the case of Ukraine, where there are differences between India and the other three Quad partners over who is willing to assist Kyiv, the statement clearly said, “We reiterate the need for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in accordance with international law, consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
India has this time reiterated its joint commitment to upholding international law and the UN Charter in Ukraine at this forum. This comes a few days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Moscow, which was criticized by Western countries and Ukraine and underlined India’s independent stance on international relations.
Russia was not named in the joint statement.
The ministers’ statement clearly mentioned the threats posed by China to regional peace and security, but did not name it.
They reiterated their fundamental “firm commitment” to a free and open Indo-Pacific region that is inclusive and resilient, and they are united in their commitment to maintaining a free and open rules-based international order.
They called for “maintenance of sovereignty and territorial integrity, peaceful settlement of disputes, and prohibition of the threat or use of force in accordance with the UN Charter”, as well as commitment to “the principles of freedom, human rights, the rule of law and democratic values”.
Regarding foreign manipulation through exploitation of information infrastructure, the four ministers vowed to “leverage their collective expertise and capabilities” to combat these threats.
He warned against “foreign information manipulation and interference, including misinformation, that undermines trust and sows divisions in the international community” and that these are strategies aimed “at interfering with domestic and international interests”.
The ministers said they would promote human rights “by supporting media freedom, tackling online harassment and abuse, and combating unethical practices”.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
