The leaders announced they would form a green shipping network that aims to establish two to three low-emission or zero-emission shipping corridors by 2030. Leading ports including Sydney,Los Angeles,Mumbai and Yokohama will be invited to join the network.
They also announced a new partnership to cut costs across elements of the clean-hydrogen supply chain.
Morrison also proposed holding a clean energy summit in Australia early next year that would be attended by experts from the four Quad nations.
The two-hour Quad summit marked the end of a intense week of diplomacy in the US for Morrison,who held one-on-one meetings with the leaders of some of the world’s most powerful countries,as well as American congressional leaders and the heads of major multilateral institutions.
Biden described the nations “democratic partners who share a common world view and have a common vision for the future coming together to take on key challenges of our ages”.
“We know how to get things done and we are up to the challenge,” the US President said.
In a joint statement issued after the summit,the leaders said their co-operation “remains unflinching” and they stand “undaunted by coercion”.
The leaders said they recognise “that our shared futures will be written in the Indo-Pacific,and we will redouble our efforts to ensure that the Quad is a force for regional peace,stability,security,and prosperity”.
In a pre-recorded video speech beamed to the UN General Assembly before the summit,Morrison touted the Quad’s vaccine rollout plans and also said the new AUKUS partnership with the US and the UK was “designed to further the cause of peace,stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region for the benefit of all who live within that region”.
The Prime Minister also devoted much of his speech to defending Australia’s record on climate emissions reduction,saying “Australia has a proven track record of … setting,achieving and exceeding” its commitments.
As it has in the past,the Chinese government lashed out at the deepening of the Quad,which is rapidly emerging as an influential counterbalance to Chinese power in the region.
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“A closed,exclusive clique targeting other countries runs counter to the trend of the times and the aspirations of regional countries,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Leijian said at a briefing in Beijing as the summit was taking place.
“It will find no support and is doomed to fail.”
Speaking to reporters after the summit,Morrison said:“The Quad is a partner whether it be for China or any other country that is in the Indo Pacific region.
“We’re there to make the region stronger,more prosperous,more stable.”
The leaders committed to reboot the plan to donate a billion COVID-19 vaccines across Asia by the end of next year.
The plan was initially announced in March but stalled when India,which will serve as the major manufacturing hub for the donated vaccines,was hit by an outbreak of the Delta outbreak and had to cease exports.
India is expected to begin exporting vaccines to other countries again in the October quarter.