Leaders of “the Quad” grouping of nations on Saturday unveiled a new set of measures to enhance connectivity and infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific, while also stressing the need for maintaining a region “free from coercion” — a veiled swipe at China.
“We seek a region where no country dominates and no country is dominated — one where all countries are free from coercion, and can exercise their agency to determine their futures,” the leaders of Australia, Japan, India and the United States said in a joint statement issued on the sidelines of the Hiroshima Group of Seven summit.
Among the new initiatives are partnerships to bolster health security, moves to strengthen undersea cable networks, an infrastructure fellowship program and the planned deployment of the first Open Radio Access Network (RAN) to the Pacific.