US President Joe Biden, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi take part in a Quad leaders summit family photo in Claymont, Delaware, U.S., September 21, 2024.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Wilmington (US): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the Quad is not against anyone, but for a rules-based international order and respect for sovereignty.
"Our message is clear - Quad is here to stay, to assist, to partner and to complement," Modi said in his opening remarks at the summit hosted by US President Joe Biden and also attended by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
"We are not against anybody, we are for international rules-based order, respect for sovereignty," Modi said.
A free, open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific is the grouping's priority, Modi said, without naming any country.
China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea.
China claims sovereignty over all of the South China Sea. Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims.