SENATOR THE HON PENNY WONG
LEADER OF THE GOVERNMENT IN THE SENATE
MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Joint Statement

(1) We, the Foreign Ministers of Australia, India and Japan and the Secretary of State of the United States of America gathered in Tokyo, Japan on July 29, 2024 and reaffirm our commitment, common principles, and capacities to preserve and strengthen the international order for the global good. We discussed and deliberated on these shared challenges, and present our respective visions for stability and prosperity together with other countries in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond, and our plans for the Quad to provide tangible benefits for the region.

(2) We reaffirm the Quad's steadfast commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, which is inclusive and resilient, and are united in our commitment to upholding the free and open rules-based international order, with its strong support for the principle of freedom, human rights, rule of law, democratic values, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and peaceful settlement of disputes and prohibition on the threat or use of force in accordance with the UN Charter. All countries have a role in contributing to regional peace, stability, and prosperity, while seeking a region in which no country dominates and no country is dominated, competition is managed responsibly, and each country is free from coercion in all its forms and can exercise its agency to determine its own future. We emphasize the importance of all countries working to take practical measures to reduce the risks of misunderstanding and miscalculation.

(3) We are collectively advancing a positive and practical agenda to support the Indo-Pacific region's sustainable development, stability, and prosperity, responding to the region's needs. We contribute to a region in which all countries and peoples can exercise free choice on how they cooperate, and trade based on partnership, equality and mutual respect. Through the Quad, we are supporting the region through practical cooperation on challenges such as maritime security, critical and emerging technologies, cyber security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, health security, climate change, counterterrorism, infrastructure and connectivity, and addressing the debt crisis through sustainable, transparent and fair lending and financing practices. We will continue to cooperate with regional partners to address shared challenges in our region.

(4) We support an open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific underpinned by effective regional institutions. We reaffirm our unwavering support for ASEAN's unity and centrality, and the ASEAN-led regional architecture - including the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum. We support practical implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and will enhance our respective cooperation with ASEAN in this regard. We respect Pacific-led regional architecture, foremost the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), and are strongly committed to supporting Pacific island countries in line with the objectives of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. We are also further strengthening our practical cooperation in the Indian Ocean, including through steadfast support for the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) as the region's premier organization for addressing the region's most pressing and important challenges and the implementation of IORA's Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.

(5) We reaffirm our conviction that international law, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the maintenance of peace, safety, security and stability in the maritime domain underpin the development and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific. We emphasize the importance of adherence to international law, particularly as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to address challenges to the global maritime rules-based order, including with respect to maritime claims, and in the South and East China Seas. 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. We continue to express our serious concern about the militarization of disputed features, and coercive and intimidating maneuvers in the South China Sea. We also express our serious concern about the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels, the increasing use of various kinds of dangerous maneuvers, and efforts to disrupt other countries' offshore resource exploitation activities. We affirm that maritime disputes must be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law, as reflected in UNCLOS. We emphasize the importance of maintaining and upholding freedom of navigation and overflight, other lawful uses of sea, and unimpeded commerce consistent with international law. We re-emphasize the universal and unified character of UNCLOS and reaffirm that UNCLOS sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and the seas must be carried out. We reiterate that the award rendered by the Arbitral Tribunal on July 12, 2016, is a significant milestone, and the basis for peacefully resolving disputes between the parties.

(6) We are determined to contribute to maintaining and developing the free and open maritime order consistent with UNCLOS in the Indian and the Pacific Oceans, and for this purpose, to enhance our collaboration and coordination with regional partners. We continue to work with the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency to enhance regional maritime domain awareness in the Pacific through satellite data, training and capacity building. In line with such efforts, we intend to geographically expand the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) to the Indian Ocean region. We are working for early operationalization of the South Asia program through the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) in Gurugram, India. Furthermore, we are incorporating effective technical cooperation in close consultation with regional partners. We also contribute to the region through capacity building cooperation for enhancing maritime security. We intend to launch a Quad maritime legal dialogue under the Quad Maritime Security Working Group to focus our expertise on international law of the sea issues in support of our efforts to uphold the rules-based maritime order in the Indo-Pacific.

(7) We recognize the transformative power of critical and emerging technologies to support sustainable development in the Indo-Pacific and deliver economic and social benefits. We continue to advance the development of a trusted, secure and robust telecommunications network, and promote supplier diversification, Open Radio Access Networks (Open RAN) and joint projects such as the Open RAN deployment in Palau, where Quad countries have collectively secured extensive investments in Open RAN trials, core network replacement, and capacity building. We are uplifting the next generation of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics experts through the Quad Fellowship, which expanded this year to include students from Southeast Asian countries. We welcome the concrete progress of AI-ENGAGE, including a Memorandum of Cooperation for the upcoming joint research collaboration which we intend to sign by the Quad Leaders' Meeting, to advance innovation in agriculture through emerging technologies to empower farmers everywhere to increase yield and resistance. We welcome progress made on enhancing resilience of semiconductor supply chains among Quad members. We recognize the importance of advancing international efforts to achieve safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems, including through the outcomes of the Hiroshima AI Process, GPAI New Delhi Ministerial Declaration 2023, and the UN resolution on "Seizing the opportunities of safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems for sustainable development". We commit to further deepening international cooperation on artificial intelligence systems and interoperability between artificial intelligence governance frameworks. We also welcome the Quad's track 1.5 dialogues on international technical standards for artificial intelligence and advanced communications. We recognize and reaffirm the important role of synthetic biology in promoting biomanufacturing as one of the key technologies driving a new industrial revolution, and will explore opportunities to expand cooperation.

(8) We reaffirm our commitment to a more open, secure, stable, accessible and peaceful cyberspace. We welcome the establishment of the Quad Cyber Ambassadors Meeting to discuss capacity building projects and responsible State behavior in cyberspace. We intend to accelerate our capacity building projects such as the international conference on cyber capacity building in the Philippines and the forthcoming Quad Cyber Bootcamp in India. We welcome the advancement of the discussion about our fields of cooperation necessary to enhance cybersecurity in the Indo-Pacific region, including in supply chain security and resilience of critical sectors and for the protection of critical infrastructure including secure commercial undersea cables from trusted vendors. We also welcome collaboration on mutual recognition of Quad partners' labeling schemes for cybersecurity of Internet of Things (IoT) products and affirm our commitment to promoting and strengthening a culture where software security is by design and default. We look forward to the second Quad Cyber Challenge which strengthens individual and community cyber security awareness across the Indo-Pacific.

(9) We reaffirm our commitment to protecting the information environment by supporting media freedom as well as addressing foreign information manipulation and interference, including disinformation, which undermines trust and sows discord in the international community. We recognize these tactics are intended to interfere with domestic and international interests, and we are committed, together with our regional partners, to leverage our collective expertise and capacity to respond. To protect the integrity of the information space, we reaffirm our commitment to upholding human rights, supporting media freedom, addressing online harassment and abuse, and countering unethical practices.

(10) We affirm the important role of women and girls in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peacebuilding, stressing the importance of their equal and meaningful participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of human rights and peace and security, and the need to increase their role in decision-making with regard to conflict prevention and resolution. We welcome ongoing efforts to promote women's and girls' wellbeing, safety and economic empowerment, aimed at building an inclusive, equitable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. We are committed to contributing to and implementing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda including its application to disaster risk reduction. We are also committed to achieving gender equality and promoting the human rights of women and girls in all their diversity, at home and abroad. The WPS agenda is crucial for effectively addressing conflicts and challenges.

(11) We are committed to responding to the vulnerabilities caused by natural hazards in the Indo-Pacific by coordinating disaster response operations and demonstrate this through our support for partner government and community-led responses to disasters in the region. We supported Papua New Guinea with relief assistance in the aftermath of the tragic landslide in May 2024, where Quad partners collectively contributed over $5M in humanitarian assistance, and look forward to continuing to support Papua New Guinea in its resilience efforts. We welcome the finalization of the Quad Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), which enable an effective, immediate and coordinated response mechanism between Quad partners. We look forward to further strengthening our coordination to provide practical support for regional partners in times of disasters. The next annual meeting and tabletop exercise will be held in Japan, which will continue to enhance Quad HADR cooperation and collaboration.

(12) We unequivocally condemn terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations including cross-border terrorism. We deplore the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), drones, tunnels and information and communication technologies by terrorists and terrorist entities. We strongly reiterate our condemnation of terrorist attacks, including the 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks and call for bringing the perpetrators of these attacks to justice without delay. We urge all countries to take immediate, sustained and irreversible action to prevent territory under their control from being used for terrorist purposes. We are committed to working together to promote accountability for the perpetrators of terrorist attacks and support implementation including through domestic designations of UN Security Council resolutions as they pertain to sanctions. We reiterate the call for concerted action against all UN-listed terrorist groups including Al-Qa'ida, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and their proxy groups. We are committed to international cooperation and working together with our international and regional partners in a comprehensive and sustained manner to strengthen their capacity to prevent, detect and respond to threats posed by terrorism and violent extremism including threats posed by the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes. We welcome the fruitful discussions held at the first Quad Working Group on Counter-Terrorism meeting and the fourth tabletop exercise in Honolulu in December 2023, and look forward to Japan hosting the next meeting and tabletop exercise in November 2024.

(13) We reaffirm our commitment to improving the region's connectivity through the development of resilient infrastructure and welcome progress under the Quad Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience, including the establishment of the Cable Connectivity and Resilience Centre in Australia and training of over 1,000 telecom officials and executives in the region under the United States CABLES program. We also applaud the expansion of Quad Infrastructure Fellowships to more than 2,200 for project developers and managers in the Indo-Pacific including South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific islands, up from the initial 1,800 Infrastructure Fellowships announced at the 2023 Quad Leaders' Summit. Quad partners have provided 720 Fellowships since this initiative was launched at the Summit. We appreciate the workshop organized by the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) in India towards strengthening the power sector resilience in the Indo-Pacific. We applaud the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation among the Quad countries' export credit agencies, which will allow our countries to advance a prosperous Indo-Pacific. We welcome the Pacific Quality Infrastructure Principles, which were approved by PIF Leaders in 2023 and closely align with the G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment, and aspire to deliver infrastructure that maximizes positive development impacts. We encourage all infrastructure financiers, including multilateral donors, to promote infrastructure projects that are open, transparent, accountable, economically efficient in view of life cycle cost, considerate of debt sustainability, integrate social and environmental considerations and strengthen climate resilience. We aim to improve access to digital services in the Indo-Pacific, and examine the transformational opportunities of secure digital public infrastructure to boost sustainable development while respecting human rights. We intend to continue to work on complementary infrastructure projects in the region.

(14) We continue to recognize the importance of sustained efforts to strengthen and maintain health security in the region. We worked to strengthen the resilience of the Indo-Pacific by holding the second pandemic preparedness tabletop exercise under the Quad Health Security Partnership, building on the success of the Quad Vaccine Partnership to strengthen prevention, detection, and response to outbreaks of disease with epidemic or pandemic potential. As part of our commitment under the Quad Health Security Partnership, the Quad efforts in 2024 include training for public health specialists from Southeast Asia to build capability to respond to regional health emergencies.

(15) We recognize the urgent need to address the climate crisis, which poses tremendous social, environmental, and economic challenges for our region. Under the Quad Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Package (Q-CHAMP), we continue to work together with Indo-Pacific partners to enhance climate and clean energy cooperation as well as promote adaptation and resilience to climate impact. We recall our commitment to the Quad Statement of Principles on Clean Energy Supply Chains in the Indo-Pacific, and the Clean Energy Supply Chains initiative designed to promote diverse, secure, transparent and resilient clean energy supply chains and support a sustainable, and inclusive clean energy transition. The Quad also continues to deliver on the Quad Climate Information Services Initiative, which is building capacity, cooperation, and information-sharing mechanisms for climate data in the Indo-Pacific to help Pacific island countries to increase their climate resilience. We also intend to provide support through global partnerships such as CDRI and its Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) initiative.

(16) We recognize the essential contribution of space-related applications and technologies in the Indo-Pacific. We call upon all States to contribute to the safe, peaceful, responsible, and sustainable use of outer space. We remain committed to fostering international cooperation and transparency, as well as confidence-building measures with the goal of improving the security of outer space for all States. We reaffirm the importance of upholding the existing international legal framework for outer space activities, including the Outer Space Treaty, and the obligation of all State Parties to the Treaty not to place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, install such weapons on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space in any other manner.

(17) We express our deepest concern over the war raging in Ukraine including its terrible and tragic humanitarian consequences. We reiterate the need for a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in line with international law, consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. We also note the negative impacts of the war in Ukraine with regard to global food and energy security, especially for developing and least developed countries. In the context of this war, we share the view that the use, or threat of use, of nuclear weapons is unacceptable. We underscore the importance of upholding international law, and in line with the UN Charter, reiterate that all states must refrain from the threat of or use of force against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state.

(18) We condemn North Korea's destabilizing launches using ballistic missile technology and its continued pursuit of nuclear weapons in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs). We express our grave concern over North Korea's use of proliferation linkages, malicious cyber activity and workers abroad to fund its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. We reaffirm our commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula consistent with relevant UNSCRs, and we urge North Korea to abide by all its obligations under the UNSCRs and engage in substantive dialogue. We stress the need to prevent any proliferation of nuclear and missile technologies related to North Korea in the region and beyond. In that context, we urge all UN Member States to abide by the related UNSCRs including the prohibition on the transfer to North Korea or procurement from North Korea of all arms and related materiel. As the mandate of the UN Panel of Experts tasked with monitoring violations of North Korea-related UNSCR sanctions was not renewed, we reiterate our commitment to continued implementation of the relevant UNSCRs which remain in full force. We reconfirm the necessity of immediate resolution of the abductions issue.

(19) We remain deeply concerned by the worsening political, security and humanitarian situation in Myanmar, including in Rakhine. Ongoing conflict and instability have serious implications for regional peace and security. We again call for the immediate cessation of violence; the release of all those unjustly detained; safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance; resolution of the crisis through constructive and inclusive dialogue among all stakeholders; and a return to the path of inclusive democracy. We reaffirm our strong support for ASEAN leadership in seeking a resolution to the crisis, including through the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus, and the constructive efforts of the ASEAN Chair and ASEAN Special Envoy to Myanmar. We call on all parties to fully implement the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus. We are also concerned about the impact that the situation in Myanmar has on neighboring countries that are witnessing increases in transnational crime such as cybercrime, the illegal drug trade and human trafficking. We restate our appeal to all States to prevent the flow of arms and dual-use material, including jet fuel. We remain resolute in our support for the people of Myanmar and commit to continuing to work with all stakeholders in a pragmatic and constructive way, to find a durable and sustainable solution to the crisis in a process which is led by the people of Myanmar.

(20) We share great interest in achieving peace and stability in the Middle East. We unequivocally condemn the terror attacks on October 7, 2023. The large-scale loss of civilian lives and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is unacceptable. We affirm the imperative of securing the release of all hostages held by Hamas, and emphasize that the deal to release hostages would bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza. We underscore the urgent need to significantly increase deliveries of life-saving humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza as well as the crucial need to prevent regional escalation. We urge all parties to comply with international law, including international humanitarian law, as applicable. We welcome UNSC Resolution S/RES/2735 (2024), and strongly urge all parties concerned to work immediately and steadily toward the release of all hostages and an immediate ceasefire. We call on all parties to take every feasible step to protect lives of civilians including aid workers, and facilitate the rapid transportation of humanitarian relief. We also encourage other countries, including those in the Indo-Pacific, to increase their efforts to address the dire humanitarian need on the ground. We underscore that the future recovery and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip should be supported by the international community. We remain committed to a sovereign, viable and independent Palestinian state taking into account Israel's legitimate security concerns as part of a two-state solution that enables both Israelis and Palestinians to live in a just, lasting, and secure peace. Any unilateral actions that undermine the prospect of a two-state solution, including Israeli expansion of settlements and violent extremism on all sides, must end. We underscore the need to prevent the conflict from escalating and spilling over in the region.

(21) We condemn the ongoing attacks perpetrated by the Houthis against international and commercial vessels transiting through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. These attacks destabilize the region, impede navigational rights and freedoms, and trade flows, and jeopardize the safety of vessels and people on board including sailors.

(22) We reiterate our commitment to the UN Charter and call for all countries to uphold its purposes and principles, including refraining from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. We underscore our commitment to upholding respect for the rule of law and observing international law in good faith, as they constitute the foundation for peace, stability and prosperity of all Member States. In this context, we also reiterate our commitment to strengthening the multilateral system and its institutions. We emphasize the need to revitalize collective trust in the multilateral system, in particular the UN and we are committed to cooperating to address attempts to undermine the foundational principles of the UN and international system We are committed to advancing a comprehensive UN reform agenda, including through the expansion of permanent and non-permanent seats of the UN Security Council. In this regard, we commit to active and constructive engagement in the intergovernmental negotiations (IGN) process on Security Council reforms, and call for early reforms with an overall objective of making the Council more representative, transparent, effective, and credible. We also call for greater permanent representation for Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean in a reformed Security Council. We intend to work towards ambitious language on urgent and comprehensive UN reforms in the Pact for the Future. With six years left, we remain steadfast in our commitment to the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achievement of all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a comprehensive manner that is balanced across three dimensions – economic, social and environmental. We recognize the 2030 Agenda and its 17 SDGs and 169 targets seek to realize the human rights of all and to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. They are integrated and indivisible and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: the economic, the social and environmental. In this regard, we underscore our commitment to strongly engaging constructively in the discussion on post-2030 framework for sustainable development, including at the Summit of the Future. The Quad continues to realize a safe and secure world where human rights and human dignity are protected, based on the central premise of the SDGs: "Leave no one behind." We are concerned at the attempts to reshape the UN SDG framework and affirm that the 2030 Agenda and SDGs are interrelated and indivisible.

(23) The Quad is a partnership that is evolving and delivering outcomes, and continues to present regional countries and the international community with solutions and options to meet the challenges of the day. The Quad is committed to steadily implementing its plans to provide tangible benefits to other countries, including those cooperation items presented here today.

(24) We look forward to India hosting the next Quad Leaders' Summit later this year, and to the United States hosting the next Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting in 2025.

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Authorised by Senator the Hon Penny Wong, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Australia