Wilmington (US), Sep 21 (PTI) 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.

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"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.

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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. PTI ZH ASH

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)