Listen to this article:

New Delhi: India and Japan on Thursday called for an early meeting of Quad leaders while renewing emphasis on safeguarding commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, as the Iran conflict and mounting concerns over economic coercion weighed on the priorities of the two Indo-Pacific partners.

The twin emphasis leapt out from the outcomes of the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi, whose first visit to India came amid what the joint statement described as an “increasingly volatile and uncertain geopolitical environment.”

In her statement after talks, Takaichi said that “in the midst of international affairs in disarray,” the two countries’ complementary relationship had “become ever more important.”

The summit declaration committed both governments to “cooperating towards an early convening of the next Quad Leaders’ Summit,” even as the grouping awaits a date for its first leaders’ meeting since US President Donald Trump’s return to office. This contrasts with last year’s summit declaration that said that the two prime ministers looked forward to the Quad Leaders’ Summit to be hosted by India.

Since the start of the second term of President Trump, there has been no sign that the White House has been eager for the Quad leaders to meet, even though the revival of the Quad took place during his first term.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, briefing reporters after the talks, said the leaders discussed the Indo-Pacific “extensively” and that both sides had “reached a consensus that they will continue to work to increase cooperation on the Quad.”

Japanese officials also sought to dispel suggestions that the grouping had lost momentum. “We have no doubt [about] the continuation of Quad cooperation even at the leaders’ level,” Japanese foreign ministry press secretary Kitamura Toshihiro told Indian reporters, adding, “So I’m not talking about cooperation to convince President Trump of holding this summit meeting.” He asserted that Quad countries were working to “provide tangible, practical cooperation to the region”.

Hormuz and energy security

On the Strait of Hormuz, the joint statement said the two prime ministers “reiterated the importance of ensuring unimpeded freedom of navigation and uninterrupted flow of global commerce, including through the Strait of Hormuz, and opposing........

© The Wire