Japanese foreign minister Hayashi compares QUAD to English rock band 'The Beatles'

Yoshimasa Hayashi, the foreign minister of Japan, on Friday compared the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) to the renowned English rock band The Beatles. The United States, Australia, Japan, and India were described as more of "soft Beatles" where "every member may release a solo album of their own."

Hayashi landed in New Delhi on Friday to attend the meeting of the QUAD foriegn ministers, despite not being present at the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Thursday.

Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue 2023, in which all four foreign ministers took part, Hayashi said: "This is not a band like the Beatles where everyone jointly releases an album every few years as a rock band... The members are fixed and they always play together for 10 years. This is more like a soft group within the Beatles, and like Paul McCartney may release a solo of their own."

'We have a trust between the four of us,' says Japanese FM

Hayashi saw US Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling ORF President Samir Saran as "an honorary member of the QUAD... A sort of fifth Beatle" when he was mediating the conversation. In contrast to Blinken, who has been described as an amateur guitarist, Hayashi is a talented pianist.

"This is the situation we are facing. It is nice to talk about Asia and the  surrounding area because we have trust between the four of us [QUAD]. Like I said in the beginning, … such as democracy, freedom and  everything. So, without worrying about "big conditions", we can really  freely talk and communicate," the Japanese minister said.

The minister further said, "For ASEAN we had the 50th  Anniversary...That information we can share with four of us here. So any ideas relating to that, I can talk with three friends [present] here."

China calls QUAD 'Indo-Pacific NATO'

Stressing that QUAD group doesn't want to exclude anyone, including China, the Japanese FM stated: "We don't try to exclude anybody (including China). As long as China  abides by international norms and laws then there are no conflicting  issues between China and the QUAD."

China is concerned about the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, and has called the alliance the "Indo-Pacific NATO" and anti-Beijing. The grouping vehemently opposes any "unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo or increase tensions" in the South and East China Seas, according to the joint statement released following the QUAD ministerial conference here today.

"We recognize that peace and security in the maritime domain  underpins the development and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific, and reiterate the importance of respect for sovereignty, consistent with international law. We reiterate the importance of adherence to international law, as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to meet challenges to the maritime rules-based order, including in the South and East China Seas," the statement said.

"We express serious concern at the militarization of disputed features, the dangerous use of coast guard vessels and maritime militia, and efforts to disrupt other countries' offshore resource exploitation activities," it added.

(With ANI inputs)