The meet will be held in the backdrop of the joint sail of the navies of India, USA, Japan and Philippines in the South China Sea region and worsening ties between China. The four democracies are exploring alternatives to China’s Belt and Road Initiative

NEW DELHI: The fourth edition of the Quadrilateral meet among India, Japan, Australia and the United States, after it was revived in November 2017, will be held later this week in a yet-to-be-announced Southeast Asian capital a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s re-election, signalling strong intent to maintain rules-based global order amid China’s ambitions to expand its influence in the region.

The four democracies are exploring alternatives to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the upcoming meeting of the Quad, as it popularly called, is expected to discuss various projects, according to people aware of the matter.

The forthcoming meet will be held in the backdrop of the joint sail of the navies of India, USA, Japan and Philippines in the South China Sea region and worsening ties between China and the US over a host of issues.

India’s external affairs ministry said in a statement after the Quad meeting in Singapore in November 2018 on the sidelines of East Asia and ASEAN summits, “The participants reaffirmed the ASEAN centrality as the cornerstone of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. They agreed to partner with other countries and forums in the region to promote a free, open, rules-based and inclusive order in the Indo-Pacific that fosters trust and confidence.”

‘The discussions focused on cooperation in areas such as connectivity, sustainable development, counter-terrorism, non-proliferation and maritime and cyber security, with a view to promoting peace, stability and prosperity in an increasingly inter-connected Indo-Pacific region that the four countries share with each other and with other partners,” the ministry said.

The four partners committed to strengthening connectivity and quality infrastructure based on sovereignty, equality and territorial integrity of all nations, as well as transparency, economic viability and financial responsibility, the ministry said in an indirect critique of China’s BRI model which has led nations into debt trap.