Only Quad can ensure free, stable, and secure Indo-Pacific: Jaishankar

As an alliance of political democracies and pluralistic societies, only quad can ensure that the Indo-Pacific remains free, remains open, stable, secure, and prosperous, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar said. 

Quad is a grouping of four countries—India, the US, Japan, and Australia—and has grown in strategic importance in the last few years. 

Speaking at the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Tokyo on Monday, Jaishankar said that besides economic and technological partnerships, the group has the additional responsibility to uphold a rules-based order.

“As political democracies, pluralistic societies, and market economies, there is the key question of upholding a rules-based order. It is only our collaboration that can ensure that the Indo-Pacific remains free, remains open, stable, secure, and prosperous. The commitment to doing global good that we have all undertaken has a resonance far beyond this region,” he said. 

“It is therefore essential that our political understanding strengthens, our economic partnerships grow, our technology collaborations expand and our people-to-people comfort intensifies. Our meeting should send a clear message, that the Quad is here to stay, here to do and here to go,” he further said in his opening remarks at the meeting. 

Jaishankar highlighted that Quad is now deeply and systemically embedded in the four countries’ foreign policies. 

“Certainly, meetings such as the one we have just concluded are hugely helpful in giving direction. But the fact is that different agencies of our Government and stakeholders beyond them – and this keeps expanding – now regularly interact with each other, to take it forward. And our leaders have personally led the Quad’s growth,” he said at the ministers’ press conference. 

The minister emphasized that there is a strong interactive dynamic between the Quad and respective bilateral or even trilateral relationships.

“…these are challenging times. Whether it is stability and security or progress and prosperity, good things don’t happen by themselves. They need trusted partners, they need international cooperation. The Quad is a great contemporary example of both,” Jaishankar added.