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Without referring to Russia and China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his opening remarks at the QUAD summit in Tokyo has called for an &ldquo;inclusive&rdquo; Indo-Pacific which was a &ldquo;force for the good&rdquo; in the international system.</p>
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Adopting a benign tone and a positive tenor marked with his trademark enthusiasm, PM Modi said: &quot;At the Quad level, with our mutual cooperation, a free, open and inclusive Indo Pacific Region is getting encouraged – it is the shared goal of all of us.&quot;</p>
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My remarks at the Quad Leaders Meeting in Tokyo. <a href="https://t.co/WzN5lC8J4v">https://t.co/WzN5lC8J4v</a></p>
&mdash; Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1528914724049461248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
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India, the United States, Japan and Australia comprise the QUAD&mdash;a defensive grouping of four democracies, which seeks to collectively safeguard a rule-based order in the Indo-Pacific that has been threatened by China&rsquo;s naval assertiveness in regional waters. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, the grouping is looking for establishing resilient supply chains that do&nbsp; not over-rely on China.</p>
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On Tuesday, all the QUAD countries joined Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) for Prosperity, a 13-nation grouping that could provide an alternative to the China-led &nbsp;Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership&nbsp;(RCEP).</p>
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Took part in the programme to launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which will play a key role in furthering growth in the Indo-Pacific region. <a href="https://t.co/IbJ372I7SX">pic.twitter.com/IbJ372I7SX</a></p>
&mdash; Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1528744815701393408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
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PM Modi noted that QUAD has energised and enthused &ldquo;democratic powers&rdquo;. &nbsp;</p>
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&nbsp;He pointed out that despite the difficult circumstances of COVID-19, the member states have stepped up coordination in several areas like vaccine delivery, climate action, supply change resilience, disaster management and economic cooperation. &quot;It has ensured peace, prosperity and stability in the Indo-Pacific,&quot; he added.</p>
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The Prime Minister specially congratulated the new Australian Premier &nbsp;Anthony Albanese for winning the elections, and for participation in the QUAD summit. &quot;Your presence amongst us 24 hours after taking the oath reflects the strength of Quad friendship and your commitment towards it,&quot; he observed.</p>
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Like India, Albanese too steered clear of referring to the war in Ukraine and China driven tensions in the South China sea.</p>
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&quot;The new Australian government&#39;s priorities align with the Quad agenda, taking action on climate change, and building a stronger and more resilient Indo-Pacific region through better economic security, better cyber security, better energy security and better environmental-and-health security,&quot; the new Australian Prime Minister.</p>
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But US President Joe Biden went ballistic to blame Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin in his opening remarks.</p>
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<strong>Also Read:</strong>&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/world-news/us-includes-india-japan-in-new-nation-indo-pacific-economic-group-to-counter-china-172957.html">US includes India, Japan in new 13-nation Indo-Pacific economic group to counter China</a></strong></p>
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The US President &nbsp;said that the world is &quot;navigating a dark hour in our shared history,&quot; in reference to the Ukraine war.&nbsp; Taking on the Russian President personally, Biden blamed him for targeting Ukrainian culture and triggering a global food crisis. &nbsp;&ldquo;Putin is just trying to extinguish a culture. This is more than just a European issue, it&#39;s a global issue. Global food crisis may worsen by Russia blocking Ukraine from exporting its grains,&rdquo; the US president noted. Biden&rsquo;s remarks also stood out for excluding any direct reference to China, whose belligerence in the region had provided the cement for the QUAD to&nbsp; bond.</p>
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The US president was also seen going out his way to greet the new prime minister who belongs to Australia&rsquo;s labour party, which, in the past has been soft on China. For the US, any deviation from the hard-line stance on China adopted by the former Australian Premier Scott Morrison, could undermine AUKUS&mdash;an anti-China security grouping comprising Australia, the United Kingdom and the US.</p>
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Underlining &nbsp;a differential approach among QUAD members, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also hit out at the Russian invasion of Ukraine. &quot;Since we last met in person in September, an incident that overturns the rules-based international order has happened: the Russian invasion of Ukraine,&quot; Kishida said in introductory remarks. &quot;It is a blatant challenge to the conditions set in the United Nations charter. We must not allow the same thing to happen in the Indo-Pacific.&quot;</p>
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The Japanese are worried that Russia&rsquo;s action sets a precedent that can encourage China to take over the disputed Senkaku islands in the East China Sea as well as Taiwan, which would significantly undermine Japanese security. &nbsp;</p>
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Also Read: <strong><a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/world-news/citing-ancient-port-of-lothal-pm-modi-says-india-has-been-the-centre-of-indo-pacific-trade-172940.html">Citing ancient port of Lothal, PM Modi says India has been the centre of Indo-Pacific trade</a></strong></p>
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