)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday that the Quad grouping is growing and called it "one of the most expansive sort of intergovernmental coordination." He recalled that Quad was actually restarted by the Donald Trump-US administration and it began at vice minister's level in 2017.
Speaking at the India - Japan Forum today, Jaishankar said that Trump administration deserves a lot of credit for the takeoff of the Quad. He said that Trump's views regarding alliances and US' share and burden sharing does not apply to the Quad as everybody pays their fair share in the alliance.
Quad is a diplomatic partnership between four countries--Australia, India, Japan, and the United States. US President Joe Biden hosted the fourth in-person and sixth overall Quad Leaders' Summit in Delaware in September.
Asked on how the administration of the US President-elect Trump views the Quad, Jaishankar said, "The Quad, this time, was actually was restarted by the Trump administration. In fact, in 2017, it was the first year of the Trump administration when it started at a vice minister's level. Then in 2019, it was again under the Trump administration that it moved from the vice minister's level to the foreign minister's level. In 2020, when there was almost a global lockdown, one of the few physical diplomatic meetings which took place in the calendar year 2020 was actually a Quad meeting in Tokyo. So, if I were to go by the past record, in fact, I would argue that the Trump administration deserves a lot of the credit for the takeoff of the Quad in its second incarnation and the fact that the Quad has since advanced would only validate their judgment."
"And there is every reason for us to expect that, they would say, we got it right the first time. It's done well and therefore, we should keep with it. I think that's a reasonable extrapolation from where they started. In many ways, most of us are conversant with President Trump's views about alliances and America's share and burden sharing and things like that, now those concerns and those arguments actually don't apply to the Quad at all. Because you know Quad is a kind of everybody pays their fair share. So it's like everybody goes for dinner and you split the bill and everybody thinks it's the right thing to do. So, if one looks at some of the concerns which President Trump has articulated in terms of America's commitments and why is America doing so much, that doesn't apply to Quad. In fact, Quad is the kind of model which is very comfortable with a much more everybody pays their share outlook of international engagement," he added.
Donald Trump has secured a second term as president after winning crucial battleground states. This victory marks a significant comeback for Trump, who lost his re-election bid in 2020 to President Joe Biden.
In the US presidential election, Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump won a decisive victory over his Democratic rival Kamala Harris. He will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, which will be his second term in the office.
Jaishankar noted that when four nations with different histories form an alliance, they agree on some things and disagree on some during a debate and then a country calls another nation a weak link. He said people in India have at times called Japan a week link.
When asked about a narrative in Japan about India being a weak link in the Quad, Jaishankar responded, "What has happened in the Quad is, there are many debates which happen in the Quad. Which happens, four countries with four different histories, you agree on some things, you don't agree on some things. Often what happens is when you don't agree on an issue, then another country would come and say, you know, that country is a weak link. I mean in our country, very frankly, people have said Japan is the weak link at times. I mean there were times when the administration transitioned in the United States. Nobody was initially sure how the transition would affect the Quad."
"And remember, Australia was the country which in the initial round of Quad, you know, we felt the Australians pulled the plug on Quad and the Australians felt they should pull the plug before we pulled the plug on Quad. So, some of these happens. I think today we are beyond that phase. I don't think there is a weak link in the Quad at all. In fact, if again, I mean it's very interesting if you ask, let us say, somebody like Mike Pompeo saying, okay, at the end of your tenure as Secretary of State, tell me four or five big achievements, he would put Quad one of them. I suspect if you ask Tony Blinken the same question next month, he'll probably give you the same answer. So, the fact is today meeting by meeting, quarter by quarter, year by year, level by level, Quad is actually growing. You look at the agenda of Quad, it's actually one of the most expansive sort of intergovernmental coordination that is today in evidence," Jaishankar said.
Following the request of the US, India has agreed to host the next Quad Summit in 2025, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.
The first Quad Leaders' Summit was held in virtual format in 2021. The second Quad Leaders' Summit (first in-person) was held in Washington, DC, on September 24, 2021. The third Quad Leaders' Summit was held virtually on March 3, 2022. The fourth Quad Leaders' Summit (second in-person) was hosted by Japan on May 24, 2022. The fifth Quad Leaders' Summit (third in-person) was held in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 20, 2023.
