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The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday reiterated its stance on the Quad grouping, noting that the four-member bloc is not directed against any country and is focused on delivering developmental outcomes in the Indo-Pacific region.
Addressing the weekly press briefing in the national capital, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Quad is a cooperative platform aimed at addressing key regional and global challenges through practical initiatives. "Quad is not against anybody. Quad is about doing projects together for the benefit of people in the Indo-Pacific area," Jaiswal said. He added that the grouping has taken up several initiatives in areas such as climate action, healthcare, and disaster management, among others. "The Quad has taken up projects and initiatives in the field of climate action, in the field of health, on disaster management and in several other areas," he said, urging reference to the recently released joint statement and fact sheet on the grouping's activities following the recently held Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting held in the national capital. Jaiswal further stressed that the Quad agenda is broad-based and focused on delivering tangible benefits to people across member countries as well as the wider region. "You would see that Quad has an expansive agenda and the idea there is to bring value to people's lives in among the four countries of the Quad as well as the countries with whom we are working in the region," the MEA spokesperson added. The remarks come after Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Tuesday said that Beijing is opposed to "exclusive groupings" and "bloc confrontation", saying cooperation between countries should contribute to regional peace, stability and prosperity and should not target any third party. "China has stated its position on Quad on multiple occasions. Cooperation between countries should be conducive to regional peace, stability and prosperity and not target any third party. We oppose forming exclusive groupings or engaging in bloc confrontation," Mao said during a regular press briefing. MEA had earlier on Tuesday responded to China's remark, noting that the Quad's existence "is not because we need to address a particular geography's concerns" and that the four-nation grouping has been operating for a very long time and has been delivering projects. During a briefing after the Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting, MEA Additional Secretary (AMS - USA & Canada) Nagaraj Naidu recalled that the Quad countries had come together to deliver vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Quad's existence is not because we need to address a particular geography's concerns. I think the Quad came together way back in 2004. This is 2026; The Quad has been operating for a very long time. And as we always keep saying, our focus within the Quad has been to deliver practical projects," Naidu said. The Quad joint statement voiced serious concern over the situation in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. "We remain seriously concerned about the situation in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. We reiterate our strong opposition to any destabilising or unilateral actions, including by force or coercion, that threaten peace and stability in the region," the statement read. "We express our serious concerns regarding dangerous and coercive actions, including interference with offshore resource development, the repeated obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight, and the dangerous manoeuvres by military aircraft and coast guard and maritime militia vessels, especially the unsafe use of water cannons and flares, and ramming or blocking actions in the South China Sea. We are seriously concerned by the militarisation of disputed features", it added. The Quad -- comprising India, the United States, Japan and Australia -- has increasingly expanded cooperation in areas including maritime security, critical and emerging technologies, infrastructure, health security and climate resilience. (ANI)
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