India and Australia tell China: Can't equate QUAD with NATO
Defence Minister S Jaishankar said that the QUAD is a platform where four nations have come together to cooperate for their benefit and for that of the world.
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FollowIndia and Australia on Saturday jointly dismissed China's description of their QUAD grouping as 'Asian NATO'.
China sees the QUAD -- a grouping of India, Australia, Japan and the United States -- as working to contain its influence in the Indo-Pacific Region. The QUAD members, on the other hand, want to have a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region based on international law.
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Addressing media persons after the India-Australia 2+2 ministerial dialogue in Delhi, Defence Minister S Jaishankar said that the QUAD is a platform where four nations have come together to cooperate for their benefit and for that of the world.
Jaishankar said that NATO is a cold war term while Quad looked at the future.
He further said that the QUAD reflects globalisation and the compulsion of countries to work together.
QUAD has focused on present-world subjects like vaccines and supply chains, Jaishankar said, adding that QUAD cannot be equated with NATO or any other organisation.
Echoing the similar view, his Australian counterpart Marise Payne said that considering that India and Australia had re-energised relations, there is also a chance to cooperate through smaller groups like the QUAD or other pieces of regional architecture like ASEAN.
QUAD members are champions of ASEAN's centrality, Payne said.
The QUAD Leadership Summit is likely to take place on September 24 and it is expected to be attended by the heads of QUAD member states, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It would be his foreign visit after Bangladesh in early this year. During his visit, he is also expected to hold a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden.
An Indian advance team has already reached Washington to finalise the logistics.
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