Quad is more credible, India, Australia reject China's criticism

India and Australia on Saturday pushed back against China's criticism of QUAD as a tool to provoke confrontation. Addressing a joint news conference in Melbourne after a bilateral meeting, external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Australian counterpart Marise Payne said the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad is not against any country and the grouping’s focus is on building prosperity and resilience through initiatives focused on Covid-19 vaccines, infrastructure development and maritime security. Dr Jaishankar reiterated India’s contention that the standoff with China in the Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) was the outcome of the Chinese side disregarding written agreements on not massing troops on the border. He was responding to a question on whether the situation at the LAC figured in his meeting with Payne.

Dr Jaishankar said China’s repeated criticism of the members of the Quad “doesn’t make us less credible”. The Chinese side has been taking this line for some time, but the Quad’s record and actions are clear, he said. The four made the point that the grouping is “here to do positive things, to contribute to the peace, prosperity and stability of the region”, Jaishankar said.

Payne was more pointed in her response to China’s criticism of the Quad, saying the work being done by multiple working groups under the Quad framework’s positive agenda shows that the grouping is “not against anything”. “We are about building...confidence and resilience, about promoting a region in which all countries are able to be, and feel, sovereign and secure without the threat of coercion or intimidation,” she said.