Quad is a statement that others cannot have ‘veto’ on our choices: EAM

New Delhi, February 24

The Quad is a statement that others cannot have a “veto” on choices of like-minded nations and the coalition is here to stay, grow and contribute to global prosperity, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday, amid mounting global concerns over China’s rising assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.

In an address at a think-tank forum, Jaishankar described the coalition of India, the US, Japan and Australia as an “overhead light” that is a “creative, flexible, nimble, responsive and open-minded” enterprise. The Quad has largely been focusing on bolstering cooperation to ensure a free and an open and inclusive Indo-Pacific in the face of Chinese belligerence.

The minister said the Quad reflected the growth of a multipolar global order and its central approach was collaborative and not unilateral. “All four governments have behaved differently from how they normally do. The Quad is an overhead light — creative, flexible, nimble, responsive and open-minded enterprise. These are not adjectives we normally associate with the bureaucracy,” he said explaining the principles that the grouping stands for. He noted that the Quad was facilitated by the emergence of the Indo-Pacific, adding it was propelled by a change in the global order that requires “more” and “not less collaboration”.