Advertisement

Updated September 21st, 2021 at 18:44 IST

'AUKUS won't impact QUAD,' clarifies India's Foreign Secretary before PM Modi's US visit

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Tuesday spoke at length about PM Modi's US visit to attend the UNGA & hold QUAD discussion at the sidelines of UNGA

Reported by: Pritesh Kamath
India, PM Modi, QUAD, PM Modi's visit to US
Image: AP/PTI | Image:self
Advertisement

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Tuesday spoke at length about PM Narendra Modi's visit to the US for attending United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). While addressing the media, Shringla also touched upon the geo-political situation arising out of the Afghanistan crisis and the Chinese Aggression in the Indo-Pacific region. Shringla said the Afghanistan issue and the QUAD dialogue are on the agenda which will be discussed by PM Modi during his visit to the US.

He was asked if AUKUS can have an impact on the working of the QUAD, of which India is a part. Drawing a distinction between the QUAD and the AUKUS, Shringla said, "The QUAD and the AUKUS are not groupings of similar nature. QUAD is designed to cater to the requirements of the Indo-Pacific. Whereas AUKUS is a security alliance between three countries". Shringla further added that "AUKUS is not relevant to QUAD and will have no impact on QUAD functioning".

Moreover, the Foreign Secretary asserted that Australia has clarified they are working on a nuclear-propelled submarine, without having any nuclear weapons. He said the AUKUS deal is not in contravention with any of Australia's international commitments with regards to the issue of nuclear proliferation.

PM Modi's visit to the US and UNGA meet

Prime Minister is scheduled to visit the US on Wednesday morning to hold a series of high-level meetings including those of the QUAD and the United Nations General Assembly. This visit is also significant as it will be the first in-person QUAD meeting with leaders of the participating countries the US, India, Japan and Australia coming face-to-face to discuss the geopolitical situation in the Indo-Pacific region.

Moreover, a White House official has said the maiden bilateral meet between PM Modi and US President Joe Biden will strengthen the relationship between the two countries and also give momentum to the QUAD grouping.

PM Modi is also scheduled to address the UNGA on September 25 in New York. Remarking on the prominence of PM Modi on the global forum, India's Permanent Representative to UN T.S Tirumurti has said that his speech at the UNGA is the most awaited by world leaders. Tirumurty said PM Modi has always addressed some of the core issues confronting the world, and those of importance and concern to India.

What is QUAD?

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue also known as the QUAD, was formed in 2007 by then Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, with the support of US Vice President Dick Cheney along with then Australian PM John Howard and India's PM Manmohan Singh. However, with China issuing formal diplomatic protests, Australia during PM Kevin Rudd’s tenure withdrew from the it due to the evolving tensions between the US and China. However, India, Japan, and the United States continued holding joint naval and military exercises. Thereafter, the QUAD was revived with Australia re-joining the alliance in order to counter China militarily and diplomatically in the South China Sea. China's misadventure in Ladakh while indulging in a faceoff with the Indian Army has also been criticised by the members as well as the global community. In 2021, the QUAD declared "a shared vision for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific", thus countering China's aggression in the region.

What is AUKUS?

The AUKUS is a trilateral security deal between Australia, the UK and the US in which, the US and the UK have committed to help Australia in developing and deploying nuclear-powered submarines. However, it has irked the French as Australia entered the AUKUS deal after cancelling its prior submarine deal with France. The initial talks of the AUKUS deal began at the G7 Summit hosted by the UK in June 2021 while the AUKUS pact was announced earlier this month.

Image: AP/PTI

Advertisement

Published September 21st, 2021 at 18:44 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo