New Delhi, Mar 5 (FN Bureau) While US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi stated that the Quad is not a security bloc, while speaking at a panel discussion at the Raisina Dialogue today, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar clearly said that the Quad Maritime Security Group would be meeting soon. At the Raisina Dialogue today, asked if the Quad has a vision for also working together on building the defence for the future, US Secretary of State Blinken said “Of course this is not a military grouping”, and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi said: “Like Tony said, this Quad is not for security issues nor military issues, but practical cooperation.”
EAM Jaishankar, said during the panel discussion, “We will be doing our maritime security working group very shortly in Washington…” The Quad joint statement issued today states: “We look forward to continuing these discussions at the Quad Maritime Security Working Group meeting hosted by the United States in Washington DC in March 2023. In this context, we welcome the progress made under the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA).” Asked by the moderator at the Raisina Dialogue, to respond to the “common refrain that most politicians seem to indulge in from the Quad countries that this is not against anyone, we are not a security grouping, we are not a military grouping. Why are we apologetic?”
EAM Jaishankar stated: “No, I don’t think – look, we are not apologetic. I do believe – because I keep reminding people of 2004, because to me, if your origins are in common good, there’s a lot – there’s an innate virtue in your existence, okay? So we do stand for something. What I would not like to be defined as is standing against something or somebody, because that diminishes me. That makes it out as though some other people are the centre of the world and I’m only there to be for them or against them. I don’t think – actually, I think I’m the centre of the world, but that’s a different matter. (to laughter from the audience).