Quad ministers reiterate commitment to peace, stability in Indo-Pacific region
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi compares Quad to The Beatles
John, Yoko, or Paul? Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov firmly believes that the Quad is “openly aimed at ruining East Asia” with meets and summits “minus-ing Russia and China”. However, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi thinks that the grouping of Australia, Japan, America, and India is comparable to the greatest rock band The Beatles.
“This is kind of a band like The Beatles. The members are fixed and they always play together (for over) 10 years,’’ said Hayashi at the Raisina Dialogue. This is the first meeting of the Quad after September 2022. Hayashi could not attend the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting on Thursday, as it conflicted with Diet (Japanese parliament) session, but he arrived early in the morning on Friday to be part of the Quad meeting, signaling how important the groping is. “But this is more kind of a soft group, so that even within The Beatles, Paul McCartney can release an album solo,’’ he said.
A pianist, Hayashi may have chosen to use the greatest band’s analogy to explain the “force of good’’ argument echoed in the joint statement issued. But he also had a more strategic answer and even made an attempt to counter the narrative that the Quad was against China. “We don’t try to exclude anybody, including China. As long as China abides by international norms and laws, then this is not a conflicting issue between China and Quad,” he said.
The meeting of the Quad comes at a time when relations between the US and China are far from rosy. Things have been tense between the two countries with the spying balloon row. India and China too just broke the ice with the first meeting between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang on the sidelines of the G20 meeting on Thursday. This was the first highlevel engagement since late 2022.
The four leaders, however, emphasised that the Quad was not a military group and does not aim to counter China. EAM Jaishankar pointed out that Quad was not against but for. “What I would not like to be defined as is standing against something or somebody, because that diminishes me,’’ said Jaishankar. “That makes it out as though some other people are the center of the world and I am only there to be for them or against them.”
In a joint statement, the
“What I would not like to be defined as is standing against something or somebody, because that diminishes me,’’ said Jaishankar. “That makes it out as though some other people are the center of the world and I am only there to be for them or against them
members pledged their “steadfast commitment to supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific, which is inclusive and resilient.”
“We strongly support the principles of freedom, rule of law, sovereignty and territorial integrity, peaceful settlement of disputes without resorting to threat or use of force and freedom of navigation and overflight, and oppose any unilateral attempt to change the status quo, all of which are essential to the peace, stability and prosperity of the IndoPacific region and beyond,’’ the statement read. The members also extended “unwavering support’’ for the UN Charter, and expressed a “commitment to strengthening the UN and international system through a comprehensive reform agenda, including through expansion in permanent and nonpermanent seats of the UN Security Council.’’