Foreign ministers of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, commonly known as the Quad, comprising Australia, India, Japan and the United States, have called for an immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar, saying the crisis is generating severe transnational crime and destabilising the broader Indo-Pacific region.
In a statement issued yesterday on regional issues, the foreign ministers expressed strong support for ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar.
In addition, they jointly called on Myanmar’s ruling military junta to release all political detainees, open unimpeded corridors for humanitarian aid and enter into genuine dialogue with all affected parties.
The emphasis underscored growing alarm among the maritime democracies over the spillover effects of the crisis, which has increasingly fuelled human trafficking, cyber scams and drug smuggling across Southeast Asian borders.
Beyond regional diplomacy, the ministers moved to solidify their security alliance, unveiling a major maritime surveillance network and pledging up to US$20 billion to secure critical mineral supply chains amid rising global tensions.
The meeting in New Delhi brought together US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi.
The Quad is an informal strategic forum designed to promote a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. The alliance focuses heavily on maritime security, critical mineral supply chains, joint infrastructure development and technological cooperation.
The dialogue was first formed in 2007 at the initiative of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, bringing together Australia, India, Japan and the US for strategic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
The grouping became inactive shortly afterward, largely because Australia withdrew at the time, but it was revived in 2017 amid growing concerns over regional security and China’s increasing influence in the Indo-Pacific.
