Defense & Security

Quad Foreign Ministers Meet in N.Y., Oppose “Unilateral Attempts to Change Status Quo”

Courtesy of the Foreign Ministry
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, right, and other Quad member nations’ foreign ministers pose for a photo in New York on Friday.

By Kazusa Yoda / The Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

12:54 JST, September 23, 2023

NEW YORK — The foreign ministers of Japan, the United States, Australia, and India met in New York on Friday and said in their joint readout that they “strongly … oppose unilateral attempts to change the status quo,” apparently with China’s increasingly hegemonic moves in mind.

The Quad foreign ministers meeting, held Friday morning local time, was attended by Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

During the meeting, the Quad members confirmed they would cooperate to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific. They also agreed to meet in person for the next Quad foreign ministers meeting in Japan in 2024.

The Quad is a diplomatic network of four democracies committed to supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific.

In the joint readout, issued following the meeting, the four also expressed their “deep concern” over the war raging in Ukraine, without naming Russia. They also said they “condemn” North Korea, which has repeatedly launched ballistic missiles.