Quad will never be like NATO: External Affairs Minister

Sandeep Dikshit

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 19

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar completely ruled out the four-nation Quad ever evolving into a NATO-like structure.

“Military alliances have never been India’s heritage… The people who use NATO-kind of analogy either don’t understand us at all and don’t know what our Independence means to us. One explanation I have is complete ignorance and lack of understanding of the Indian mindset,” he said at All India Management Association’s (AIMA) National Leadership Conclave today.

“Or these people are using these words deliberately to discourage or dissuade or mislead us from doing what is in our own interest,” he said.

Jaishankar suggested a military alliance would be tantamount to abandoning India’s independence of approach. On Quad, he said it was very reasonable in international relations to have countries with convergences and shared interests to work together.

“But I wouldn’t exaggerate and wrongly create the imagery of a NATO military alliance, cold war etc. That has never been India’s heritage. During the cold war also, we stayed away from NATO,” he added. Jaishankar’s outright rejection of the Quad evolving into an Asian NATO comes at a time when border talks with China and peace talks with Pakistan are stalemated.

Giving an insight into what is discussed at Quad, Jaishankar said the four ministers discussed how to ensure students move around and travel in a Covid environment easily.