India to push its Indo-Pacific agenda at meet of Quad EAMs

After the Eurasian outreach, India will push its Indo-Pacific agenda through a meeting of Quad foreign ministers at the end of July in Tokyo.

The ministers are expected to discuss China’s growing maritime presence in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, as well as North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes, ET has learnt.

The current tensions between Philippines and China in the South China Sea region are also expected to figure at the foreign ministers meet. There could also be focus on Taiwan Straits.


This will be the first Quad foreign ministers meeting since September 2023.

Ahead of the meeting, external affairs minister S Jaishankar will be in Laos for the India-Asean and East Asia Summit (EAS) foreign ministers meet. Laos is the current Asean and EAS chair.

The visits may enable Jaishankar’s first meetings with his counterparts from the US, Japan and Australia since PM Narendra Modi’s Moscow trip, which has been criticised by the Biden administration. There is also discomfort in Australia, a close ally of the US, over Modi’s Moscow visit. However, as in the past, Japan has refrained from issuing any statement on Modi’s trip and India’s foreign policy choices that advocates strategic autonomy.

NSAs of India and the US during their telephone conversation on Friday discussed Quad-related engagements.

The Quad foreign ministers meeting in Tokyo is being planned alongside the Japan-US foreign and defence ministers meeting. US defence secretary Lloyd Austin recently announced a command upgrade plan for US forces in Japan.

At the last Quad foreign ministers meet in September 2023, the four ministers issued a joint readout supporting an open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific underpinned by effective institutions and reaffirmed unwavering support for Asean’s unity and centrality, the Asean-led regional architecture—including the East Asia Summit and Asean Regional Forum—and practical implementation of the Asean outlook on the Indo-Pacific. They also focused on Quad counter-terror initiatives amid consistent cross-border threats faced by India.