Dr S Jaishankar – External Affairs Minister:
Honored to deliver 2022 edition of Vice Admiral KK Nayyar Memorial Lecture.
Made the following points:
1. The current Quad is a cumulative product of several developments, among them the changed capabilities of key players, a more integrated arena, an emerging vacuum on global issues and a greater openness to look beyond orthodox constructs.
2. At the end of the day, the compulsions of inter-dependence and inter-penetration have triumphed over outdated definitions and vested interests. Let us be clear: the Indo-Pacific is the future, not the past.
3. At heart of Quad is a level of comfort generated by marked improvement for India in multiple sets of bilateral relationships. This is enhanced by a stronger sense of converging purpose in face of regional & global challenges.
4. Charges that the Indo-Pacific derives from Cold War thinking are motivated and false. They are made by the very quarters who seek to freeze the status quo of 1945. And deny the integration that has happened in the last two decades. Their endeavour is to constrain the choices of others and impose their own interests.
5. The objective of the Quad, in words of PM Narendra Modi , is to do global good. The need for that to be a collaborative effort is self-evident. It can unfold today because painstakingly efforts were made over many years to strengthen the bilateral relationships.
But even that, by itself, was not adequate. It took considerable openness of mind in all the Quad leaderships to envisage collaboration in a more contemporary manner.
6. If Quad is to continue growing, we must also be cognizant of what we should not do. Trying to strait-jacket it, subject it to stress tests or impose congruence over convergence are harmful, not helpful.
The Quad works precisely because it is flexible and understanding, a welcome departure from the rigidities of the Cold War era.
