NEW DELHI: The standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in Eastern Ladakh along the LAC came up for discussion with other regional and global issues during the Quad leaders meeting on Friday.“The LAC standoff in Eastern Ladakh was discussed during the Quad Leadership Summit and members had sympathetic views,” sources said.
The Quad, comprising India, Australia, Japan and the US, has been perceived to be a grouping form to keep in check China’s aggressiveness and actions in the Indo-Pacific region, especially in the South China Sea. However, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said the Quad was formed to help make positive progress.
“Together, we commit to promoting a free, open rules-based order, rooted in international law to advance security and prosperity and counter threats to both in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. We support the rule of law, freedom of navigation and overflight, peaceful resolution of disputes, democratic values, and territorial integrity. We commit to working together and with a range of partners.
We reaffirm our strong support for ASEAN’s unity and centrality as well as the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. Full of potential, the Quad looks forward to the future; it seeks to uphold peace and prosperity and strengthen democratic resilience, based on universal values,” a joint statement released after the meet stated.
Reacting to the meeting, China said: “We hope that relevant countries uphold the principles of openness, inclusiveness and win-win results and refrain from pursuing exclusive blocs and do things that are conducive to regional peace, stability and prosperity.
“Exchanges and cooperation between nations should contribute to the mutual understanding and trust among nations, rather than targeting a third party or damaging the interest of a third party,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said.