New Delhi: In their second ministerial engagement in two months, the Quad foreign ministers on Wednesday (July 22) reaffirmed their commitment to a “free and open Indo-Pacific” and to ASEAN’s “unity and centrality”, two days after Filipino and Chinese vessels clashed near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.External affairs minister S. Jaishankar, Australian foreign minister Penny Wong, Japanese foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi and US secretary of state Marco Rubio met on the sidelines of the week-long series of ASEAN-related gatherings in Manila, hosted by the Philippines as this year’s ASEAN chair.In a brief joint statement on “Cooperation with ASEAN” issued after the meeting, the ministers said they had discussed ways to deepen cooperation with Southeast Asia through the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), focusing on maritime and transnational security, economic security, critical and emerging technologies, and humanitarian assistance.“As ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partners, we… reaffirm our commitment to strengthening a free and open Indo-Pacific and our unwavering support for ASEAN unity and centrality,” the ministers said.The statement added that the four countries were “deeply invested in the region’s success” and shared the conviction that “peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific maritime domain underpin the security and prosperity of the region.”Although references to ASEAN centrality have appeared in almost every Quad joint statement in recent years, Wednesday’s declaration was unusual in being devoted entirely to the subject. Australia’s foreign ministry had noted in its profile of the Quad that it has “consistently reaffirmed ASEAN centrality and leadership in the region”.The most notable recent exception was the joint statement issued in Washington on January 21, 2025, a day after Rubio took office, which omitted any reference to ASEAN centrality. The omission had prompted speculation among regional analysts about whether the incoming Trump administration might place less emphasis on Southeast Asia in its Indo-Pacific strategy.That a standalone statement on ASEAN emerged this time is perhaps explained by the venue. Since 2019, Quad foreign ministers have regularly met in cities including Tokyo, Melbourne, New York, Washington and New Delhi. Wednesday’s meeting was the first held on the sidelines of ASEAN’s annual ministerial gatherings.By issuing a separate statement focused solely on ASEAN, the Quad appeared to be addressing a longstanding concern among Southeast Asian countries that increasingly active minilateral groupings could gradually diminish ASEAN’s role as the region’s principal platform for political and security dialogue. ASEAN has consistently maintained that regional institutions such as the East Asia Summit, the ASEAN Regional Forum and the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus should remain the primary forums through which major powers engage in the Indo-Pacific.The meeting also came against the backdrop of renewed tensions in the South China Sea.Chinese and Filipino vessels clashed on Monday near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, where the grounded Philippine naval vessel BRP Sierra Madre has served as Manila’s military outpost for more than two decades.The Philippine military said China Coast Guard personnel struck a Filipino serviceman on the head with a wooden baton as they approached the outpost. Beijing, however, accused Philippine vessels of ramming Chinese ships in a “dangerous manner” and said its personnel had been “provoked”, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.The following day, both countries summoned each other’s envoys, with China filing what it called a formal protest and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr meeting Beijing’s ambassador in Manila.Australia’s Wong condemned what she described as China’s “destabilizing and dangerous conduct“, after Washington had earlier denounced China’s “dangerous and aggressive actions“.China’s ambassador to Manila, Jing Quan, meanwhile said the latest confrontation had “not changed” Beijing’s intention to conclude a South China Sea code of conduct with ASEAN, describing it as “kind of rules of engagement” distinct from the competing territorial claims.Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, who is also attending the ASEAN meetings in Manila, held separate meetings with all four Quad foreign ministers.Rubio later wrote on X that he was “pleased to reconvene the Quad at the @ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting to emphasize our message: strong cooperation is vital to supporting ASEAN’s own priority and centrality in the region.”He added that the four countries “share a vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific that is grounded in the rule of law, sovereignty, and territorial integrity” and said “the Quad remains a priority, and we will meet again later this year.”Jaishankar, in his own post on X, said the ministers had “reviewed the Indo-Pacific landscape and discussed recent developments” while following up on the outcomes of their New Delhi meeting in May. He said the four remained “committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific with a recognition of ASEAN centrality.”On the sidelines of the ministerial, Jaishankar also held separate bilateral meetings with Rubio and Wong.According to Jaishankar, his discussions with Rubio covered “trade and tariffs, energy, defence and security, critical minerals and artificial intelligence” under the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, along with regional and global developments. His meeting with Wong focused on following up on the outcomes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Australia.Neither the Quad’s joint statement nor the ministers’ individual remarks referred to a leaders’ summit, which has not been held since India assumed the Quad chair in 2024.Ahead of Wednesday’s meeting, however, US ambassador to India Sergio Gor said the Manila ministerial would be followed by another Quad foreign ministers’ meeting in Australia, “followed ultimately by a leaders’ meeting which we are trying to nail down”.Earlier in the day, Jaishankar also addressed the ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, where he echoed many of the themes that later featured in the Quad discussion.Referring to this year’s ASEAN chairmanship theme, “Navigating Our Future, Together”, he said the world had become “increasingly turbulent” and that no country or grouping could address contemporary challenges on its own.He pointed to growing pressures on supply chains, energy, food and health security, adding that maritime trade had also become “a source of anxiety” and underscoring the importance of observing international law. Noting that 2026 had been designated the ASEAN-India Year of Maritime Cooperation, he described it as “a timely reminder of what we can do for a more stable and secure future.”Despite the challenges, Jaishankar said India and ASEAN remained optimistic about expanding cooperation in trade and investment, technology, artificial intelligence, sustainability, connectivity and mobility, arguing that deeper cooperation would help countries “de-risk and diversify.”He also described ASEAN centrality as “a key principle” of India’s Indo-Pacific vision, pointing to the convergence between the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative as an example of that approach. He concluded by saying that India and ASEAN, together representing “two billion” people, “must navigate” the current period of global transition together.