Washington, 24 December 2023 (TDI): The US hosted representatives from Australia, Japan, and India for the QUAD Counterterrorism Working Group meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, from December 19-21.
The objective of the meeting was to make tangible progress on challenges within the Indo-Pacific and support a free and open region.
The State Department Counterterrorism Bureau posted, “To promote regional stability, QUAD partners shared practices to counter ever-evolving terrorist threats at this week’s annual Counterterrorism Working Group meeting.
According to the US State Department, the QUAD convenes four like-minded regional partners that focus on enhancing cooperation in response to an overwhelming incident in the Indo-Pacific region.
The discussions circled exchanging information, further developing coordination mechanisms, and countering terrorist use of emerging technologies. The US interagency delegation was led by the Acting Principal Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Gregory LoGerfo.
The multi-day event included presentations, and tabletop exercises which focused on enhancing cooperation.
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Furthermore, the participants in the meeting investigated the capabilities and support that could be provided and how well the countries can work together to support the Indo-Pacific countries.
Earlier this year, QUAD established the Counterterrorism Working Group, which works closely with the Indian Ocean Rim Association. The countries agreed to work out the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative.
Reportedly, Terrorism has become increasingly diffuse by the adaptation to the use of emerging technologies such as unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and the internet. The incitement to recruitment, terror attacks, financing, preparation, and planning including social media platforms is quite evident.
QUAD denounces the use of terrorist proxies and commits to promote accountability of terrorist attacks including the 26/11 attack in Mumbai. The incident claimed the lives of citizens from all QUAD countries.
Ministers intend to meet in person for the QUAD Foreign Minister’s Meeting in Japan in 2024.
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