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Tag: quad

  • Ukraine discussed, but Indo-Pacific remains core focus of Quad’s agenda: MEA

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India on Friday said Indo-Pacific remained the core focus of the Quad even if the situation in Ukraine was discussed at a meeting of the leaders of the coalition.

    Leaders of the Quad, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and their Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida, held a virtual meeting on Thursday that saw a discussion on the Ukraine crisis.

    A joint readout released by the White House said the Quad leaders discussed the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine besides assessing its “broader implications”.

    External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing that it is natural for leaders, having such good rapport among themselves, to discuss topical issues when they meet.

    “As you saw from the readouts, Ukraine was discussed naturally. But let me just emphasise the Indo-Pacific remains the core focus of the Quad’s agenda and you will see that coming in terms of positive activities, initiatives and efforts all four countries are making,” he said.

    Bagchi said the message at the meeting was very clear that although there is a crisis in Ukraine, all four countries were trying to take forward the agenda of the Quad that was firmed up at an in-person summit of the leaders of the coalition in Washington last September.

    “From our perspective, while of course there’s a very serious situation. In Ukraine, it’s not as though challenges in other parts of the world have vanished,” he said.

    “In the Indo-Pacific, the challenge is there and the agenda that the leaders of these four countries have signed up to, that is Indo-Pacific being at the core of the Quad’s agenda is something that they want to push ahead with,” he said.

    In his remarks at the virtual meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a return to a path of “dialogue and diplomacy” in defusing the crisis in Ukraine.

    “They (Quad leaders) agreed to stand up a new humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mechanism which will enable the Quad to meet future humanitarian challenges in the Indo-Pacific and provide a channel for communication as they each address and respond to the crisis in Ukraine,” the joint readout stated.

    It said the Quad leaders agreed to meet in person in Tokyo in the coming months.

    An Indian statement said, “Developments in Ukraine were discussed in the meeting, including its humanitarian implications. The prime minister emphasised the need to return to a path of dialogue and diplomacy.”

    Modi underlined that the Quad must remain focused on its “core objective” of promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and he also reiterated the importance of adhering to the United Nations Charter, international law, and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, it said.

  • QUAD meeting puts to rest speculation on difference between India, US on Ukraine crisis

    By PTI

    WASHINGTON: Leaders of the Quad, including US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday agreed to stand up a new humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mechanism which will enable the strategic alliance to meet future humanitarian challenges in the Indo-Pacific and provide a channel for communication as they each address and respond to the escalating crisis in Ukraine.

    Putting to rest all speculation about India and the United States not being on the same page on the issue of the Ukrainian crisis, Prime Minister Modi and American President Biden were joined by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in issuing a joint statement on the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict.

    “The Quad leaders discussed the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and assessed its broader implications,” said a joint readout of the Quad leader’s call issued by the White House here.

    The first virtual meeting of the Quad leaders, which was closed for the press, is significant because the new grouping of these four countries, which was primarily meant for the Indo-Pacific region, talked about and commented about a raging crisis in Europe.

    According to the readout, the four leaders agreed to stand up a new humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mechanism which will enable the Quad to meet future humanitarian challenges in the Indo-Pacific and provide a channel for communication as they each address and respond to the crisis in Ukraine.

    The virtual meeting, being held in the backdrop of the major conflict in Europe, also puts to rest all speculation that Quad might not remain united in the wake of the Ukrainian crisis after Russia launched an all out military aggression against its neighbour.

    India is the only country among this group of four big players in Quad which has abstained from the repeated United Nations votes on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

    The Biden Administration has shown its understanding of India’s position and one of its officials on Wednesday told lawmakers that India’s position on Russia has now evolved.

    According to the readout, the four leaders convened the meeting to reaffirm their “commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, in which the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states is respected and countries are free from military, economic, and political coercion.”

    In November 2017, the US, Australia, India and Japan gave shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the Quad to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence, amidst China’s growing military presence in the strategic region.

    China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it.

    Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea.

    Beijing is also involved in a maritime dispute with Japan over the East China Sea.

    ALSO READ | At Quad meet, PM Modi calls for return to path of diplomacy on Ukraine crisis

    The four leaders reaffirmed their dedication to the Quad as a mechanism to promote regional stability and prosperity.

    “In their continuing pursuit of a free and open Indo-Pacific, the Quad Leaders agreed to meet in person in Tokyo in the coming months,” said the readout.

    During the meeting, Modi underlined that the Quad must remain focused on its core objective of promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

    He called for concrete and practical forms of cooperation within the Quad, in areas like Humanitarian and Disaster Relief, debt sustainability, supply chains, clean energy, connectivity, and capacity-building.

    “Developments in Ukraine were discussed in the meeting, including its humanitarian implications. The Prime Minister emphasized the need to return to a path of dialogue and diplomacy,” said a readout of the meeting issued by the office of the prime minister.

    “The leaders also discussed other topical issues, including developments in ASEAN, the Indian Ocean region and the Pacific Islands. The Prime Minister reiterated the importance of adhering to the UN Charter, international law and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. The leaders agreed to stay in touch and to work towards an ambitious agenda for the forthcoming Leaders’ Summit in Japan,” it said.

    The very fact that both Biden and Modi shared the Quad platform to discuss the issue of Ukraine, at the end of which a joint readout was issued, is reflective of the fact that the two countries can sit and talk on issues like this.

    The joint statement in itself is a message.

    The meeting also puts to rest questions like what happens to the Indo-Pacific and Quad in the wake of the Ukrainian crisis.

    All the four leaders spoke at least three times during the meeting, which was closed for the press.

    The United States holding a meeting of Quad leaders at the head of state level in the middle of the Ukrainian crisis indicates their commitment to Quad.

  • AUKUS alliance neither relevant to Quad nor will impact on its functioning: India

    Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said the member states of Quad have a shared vision for the Indo-Pacific and they are working towards it.

  • India, Australia reject criticism of Quad, Jaishankar says important not to ‘misrepresent’ reality

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India and Australia on Saturday dismissed criticism that Quad was a sort of an ‘Asian NATO’ with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar asserting that it is important not to “misrepresent” the reality.

    The assertion came at a joint press event after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajath Singh held the inaugural ‘two-plus-two’ dialogue here with their Australian counterparts Marise Payne and Peter Dutton.

    Asked about Quad being referred to as an ‘Asian NATO’, Jaishankar said, “we call ourselves Quad and Quad is a platform where four countries have come to cooperate for their benefit and for the benefit of the world.”

    “I think a term like NATO is very much a cold war term, looking back. I think Quad looks in the future, it reflects globalisation, it reflects the compulsions of countries to work together,” he said.

    Jaishankar also pointed out that Quad was currently focussed on issues such as vaccines, supply chains, education and connectivity.

    “I can’t see any relationship between such issues and the NATO or any other kind of organisations like that. So I think it is important not to misrepresent what is the reality out there,” he asserted.

    Echoing similar views, Payne said as Australia and India have re-energised relations, there is also the opportunity to work through smaller groups like the Quad and other pieces of regional architecture like the East Asia Summit or the ASEAN regional forum.

    “Quad members are champions of ASEAN centrality, we actively engage in that ASEAN architecture. We are committed to supporting the practical implementation of the ASEAN outlook on the Indo-Pacific,” she said.

    “We also say that we have a positive and practical agenda — around vaccines, around climate, around critical technology also trying to address some of the dangerous misinformation that pervades the world experience in relation to the (Covid) pandemic,” the minister said.

    Referring to the Quad, she said the constructive engagement in a normal diplomatic network was overwhelmingly about contributing positively for that “open, inclusive and resilient region in which we all want to live”.

    Speaking at an event here, Payne on Friday had said the Quad has evolved “swiftly” and very “effectively” and that Australia commends India for taking a strong leadership role in the region.

    In the first Quad summit in March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Australian PM Scott Morrison and Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga vowed to strive for an Indo-Pacific region that is free, open, inclusive, healthy, anchored by democratic values, and unconstrained by coercion, in an apparent message to China.

    Both China and Russia have been critical of Quad.

    While Beijing has been claiming that the alliance was aimed against it, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had called it an “Asian NATO” and criticised the grouping.

  • Quad navies to flex muscle at Malabar naval exercise from August 26 to 29

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  India, the US, Australia and Japan will carry out the next edition of the high-voltage Malabar naval exercise from August 26 to 29 off the coast of Guam amid mounting global concerns over China’s growing military muscle-flexing in the Indo-Pacific region.

    Indian stealth frigate INS Shivalik and anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kadmatt reached Guam on Saturday to take part in the exercise that will feature an array of complex drills.  “The Malabar-21 would witness high-tempo exercises among destroyers, frigates, corvettes, submarines, helicopters and long-range maritime patrol aircraft of the participating navies,” Navy spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said.  “Complex surface, sub-surface and air operations including live weapon firing drills, anti-surface, anti-air and anti-submarine warfare drills, and joint manoeuvres and tactical exercises will be conducted during the exercise.” 

    The Malabar exercise is taking place in the midst of growing convergence of interests among the Quad countries in the face of China’s increasing assertiveness. Though it is not part of the framework of cooperation under Quad, the exercise is seen as a reflection of increasing partnership among the four countries.

    China has been suspicious about the purpose of the Malabar exercise as it feels that the annual war game is an effort to contain its influence in the Indo-Pacific region. India, the US, Australia, Japan and many other like-minded countries are working towards ensuring a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.

  • ‘Our joining Quad not China’s business’: Dhaka hits back at Beijing

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  Bangladesh has curtly replied to China’s threat, warning it against joining the Quad saying that it was a sovereign nation and was free to take its own decision.

    “Bangladesh maintains a non-aligned and balanced foreign policy and it will decide what to do according to those principles. We are an independent and sovereign state. We decide our foreign policy.

    “But yes, any country can uphold its position. Naturally, he (Chinese ambassador) represents a country. They can say what they want. Maybe they don’t want it,” Bangladesh foreign minister AK Abdul Momen said and added that no one from the Quad has approached them yet.

    Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming on Monday had warned Dhaka against joining the Quad saying Dhaka’s participation in the grouping would result in substantial damage to bilateral ties.

    “Obviously it will not be a good idea for Bangladesh to participate in this small club of four (Quad) because it will substantially damage our bilateral relationship,” he said.

    The Quad, comprising US, Australia, Japan and India, is often perceived to be formed to keep a check on China’s aggression and assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region, especially in the South China Sea.

    However, the leaders of Quad have refuted these claims and said the grouping is to ensure the security and the economic progress of the region.

     “Quad says it is only for economic purposes and security and so on. But that’s not true. We know that Quad is aimed at China,” Li said and termed the grouping as a narrow-purposed geopolitical clique.

  • Navy chief for free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific amid growing Chinese dominance

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh reiterated that India is all for achieving free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.

    In his opening remarks for Raisina Dialogue- 2021 in New Delhi, Admiral Singh said India will grow together with others having a collective and cooperative connotation, where convergences will be based on ‘achieving something’ rather than being ‘against someone’.

    “And that something is a free, open and inclusive Indo- Pacific,” said the Navy Chief. “Free – means freedom to engage in lawful activities in pursuit of prosperity. Open – implies open to all Nations in the Region, as also others beyond who have a legitimate stake in the common pursuit of progress and prosperity of the Region. And Inclusive – collaborative and cooperative framework that welcomes everyone to join and work together.”

    Indo-Pacific has been in the news with China regularly making emphatic maritime claims in the region. Admiral Philip Scot Davidson, Commander of the US’ Indo- Pacific Command, termed the Chinese behaviour as coercive and corrupt.

    “China’s approach to the region includes efforts to coerce, corrupt and coopt governments…,” he said.

    Asked about the possibility of military cooperation among the Quad countries, Admiral Singh did not give a direct reply but said there is no dearth of issues that it can handle and that there has been a robust engagement among the navies of the member nations of the grouping.

    Last month, the top leadership of the Quad grouping of India, the US, Japan and Australia vowed to expand cooperation in the Indo-Pacific at a time China was increasing its military assertiveness in the region.

    Admiral Philip Scot Davidson, Commander of the US’s Indo-Pacific Command, said the Quad has tremendous potential for cooperation, going far beyond the security sphere.

    Admiral Singh said there is a “natural desire” among most nations in the region to cooperate and collaborate for greater prosperity, adding the Indo-Pacific provides tremendous opportunities for “issue based convergences”.

    “Convergence, as you know, can lead to cohesion,” he said, adding Indo-Pacific is going through churn.

    Admiral Singh said the opportunities for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific can outweigh the challenges that are being faced, noting that the “oceans connect and they don’t divide”.

    Referring to China’s attempts to expand presence in the Indian Ocean, the Navy Chief said its energy sources, markets and resources are located to the west.

    He said it is not surprising that China has come into the Indian Ocean as it is often said “the flag follows trade”.

    The Indian Ocean, considered the backyard of the Indian Navy, is critical for India’s strategic interests.

    China has been making concerted efforts to increase its presence in the region.

    Indian Navy has been ramping up presence in the Indian Ocean to keep a hawk-eyed vigil over Chinese activities.

    Admiral Singh said most threats in the maritime domain are transnational in nature and that there has been a realisation that it is not possible for one nation to go it alone.

    He said India has several areas of convergence and alignment with other nations in the Indo-Pacific.

    The Navy Chief said Indian Navy has been working with regional navies to build their capacities to secure their interests and also cooperating with like minded navies to build interoperability and trust.

    Admiral Davidson also said that the US has an interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, adding China is looking at militarily threatening and diplomatically isolating Taiwan.

    He said US engagement with Taiwan is commensurate to China’s actions.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • ‘Words like Asian NATO for Quad is a mind-game’: Jaishankar

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  The Indo-Pacific construct was not about reinforcing the Cold War but about overcoming it, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday.

    “The idea that when we come together and there is some sort of a threat or messaging to others, I think people need to get over this. Using words like ‘Asian NATO’, etc is a mindgame which people are playing,” Jaishankar said, stressing that the Quad o r Quadilateral Security Dialogue was not ‘Asian NATO and that India never had NATO mentality.

    “I can’t have other people have a veto about what am going to discuss, with whom I’m going to discuss, how much I’m going to contribute to the world. That’s my national choice. That kind of NATO mentality has never been India’s. If it has been there in Asia before I think it’s in other countries and regions, not in mine.”

    The minister was speaking at the Raisina Dialogue 2021 in a panel discussion ‘Crimson Tide, Blur Geometrics: New Partnerships for Indo-Pacific’ with his French counterpart Jean-Yves La Drian and Australian Foreign Minister Marise Paine.

    Elaborating his point that Quad was not an Asian NATO, Jaishankar spelt out 10 subjects including vaccine collaboration and climate action that the grouping had discussed so far.

    On the Indo-Pacific, he said that the region is a return to history.

    “It reflects a more contemporary world. It is actually overcoming the Cold War, not reinforcing it,” he added.

    Le Drian said the security in the Indo-Pacific region is very important while Payne said that Australia has a practical approach to the region.

    Perception of being ‘anti-China’ front

    Quad is a grouping comprising India, Australia, the US and Japan and is often perceived to be formed to keep China’s assertiveness and aggression in check in the South China Sea. 

  • Quad won’t be military alliance but there will be military cooperation: Army Chief

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Army Chief Gen MM Naravane Thursday said there will be military cooperation among the member nations of the Quad but it will not be a military alliance like NATO.

    His comments came two weeks after the top leadership of the Quad grouping of India, the US, Japan and Australia vowed to expand cooperation in the Indo-Pacific at a time China was increasing its military assertiveness in the region.

    “It will not be a military alliance. There will definitely be military cooperation, both bilaterally between the countries of the Quad and as a quadrilateral also. But it would not be a military alliance in that sense,” the Army Chief said.

    He was replying to a question at the India Economic Conclave.

    “The Quad is actually supposed to be a quadrilateral security dialogue. We keep calling it Quad but the actual aim of that was a security dialogue and this will of course have security part of it,” he said.

    “But in this, every country will still be looking at its own interest,” he said adding Quad will not be a NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation).

    In their first summit under Quad framework, leaders of India, the US, Japan and Australia deliberated on March 12 on expanding cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and focused on a coronavirus vaccine initiative to effectively deal with the pandemic.

    The four Quad member countries have been resolving to uphold a rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific.

    Gen Naravane also said that the Quad is not focused against any particular country.

    “I do not think Quad is aimed at any particular country. That would be a wrong message if at all it has been viewed that way. It is an alliance of like-minded democratic countries who have shared values and who believe in an international order that is based on rules and regulations,” he said.

    The evolving situation in the Indo-Pacific region in the wake of China’s increasing military muscle-flexing has become a major talking point among leading global powers.

    The Army Chief also referred to reports of China sending more than 200 fishing vessels into the territorial waters of the Philippines, saying Beijing is trying to bulldoze their way and change the status quo.

    “They are trying to unilaterally force their way and change the status quo. Trying to bulldoze their way and that is not going to be acceptable to any self-respecting country,” he said.

    “All these countries are now realising that they need to take a stand and safeguard their interests,” he said.

  • In joint article, Quad leaders reiterate vow to overcome challenges

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  Quad leaders joined hands to write an opinion piece in The Washington Post, where they reiterated that the four nations were committed to a free, open, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific. Jointly penned by US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga and PM Narendra Modi, the article in an apparent reference to China said their shared vision for the Indo-Pacific region has been increasingly tested and this has strengthened their resolve to face the most urgent of global challenges together.

    The article was published days after the first summit of Quad leaders was held virtually, where the leaders discussed issues like climate change, Indo-Pacific region, the LAC situation and also rolled out a Covid-19 vaccine initiative where the four nations will work to increase the manufacturing capacity of India to 1 billion doses by the end of 2022.

    The Quad grouping is perceived to be a counter to China’s growing influence and assertiveness in the region, especially the South and East China Seas.

    “In this new age of interconnection and opportunity throughout the Indo-Pacific, we are again summoned to act together in support of a region in need. The governments of India, Japan, the US and Australia have worked closely for years, and Friday, for the first time in the Quad history, they convened as leaders to advance meaningful cooperation at the highest level,” the leaders wrote.

    They recalled that the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami caused the origin of the Quad.

    “With millions displaced and hundreds of thousands killed, the Indo-Pacific region sounded a clarion call for help. Together, our four countries answered it. This Quad became a diplomatic dialogue in 2007 and was reborn in 2017,” the leaders said.

    Saying that the pandemic was one of the ‘greatest risks to health and economic stability’, the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to health and safety of people.

    “We are determined to end the pandemic because no country will be safe so long as the pandemic continues,” they said.