From left: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Australian Foreign Minister (FM) Marise Payne, Indian FM Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Japanese FM Yoshimasa Hayashi at a press conference in Melbourne, Australia on February 11, 2022. (Photo: AFP/VNA) Australian Foreign Minister (FM) Marise Payne, Indian FM Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Japanese FMYoshimasa Hayashi and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, made the commitment in a joint statement issued after the fourth Quad Foreign Ministers’Meeting in Melbourne, Australia, on February 11.
The ministers recognisethat international law, peace, and security in the maritime domain underpinsthe development and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific.
“We reiterate the importance of adherence to internationallaw, particularly as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea(UNCLOS), to meet challenges to the maritime rules-based order, including inthe South and East China Seas. We are determined to deepen engagement withregional partners, including through capacity-building and technicalassistance, to strengthen maritime domain awareness; protect their ability todevelop offshore resources, consistent with UNCLOS; ensure freedom of navigation and overflight; combatchallenges, such as illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; and promotethe safety and security of sea lines of communication,” they said in the joint statement./.
VNA
