AUKUS doesn't have any impact on QUAD: India

NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday said that the trilateral military treaty among Australia-UK-US or AUKUS was not very relevant from its perspective and also does not have an impact on the functioning of the QUAD.

Addressing a media briefing here, Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said that QUAD and AUKUS were not groupings of a similar nature. "The QUAD is plurilateral grouping - a group of countries having a shared vision of their attributes and values QUAD is designed to cater to requirements of the Indo-Pacific region", he said.

QUAD is a grouping of US, Australia, Japan and India. He said that AUKUS was a military alliance of the three nations and India was not a party to this alliance. From our perspective, it was neither relevant nor will it have any impact on its functioning, he added.

Informing about the QUAD's initiatives, Shringla said, "It has adopted a positive pro-active agenda that has wide array of initiatives at the global level to address some of the issues of the day, this includes dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, including supply of vaccines to Indo-Pacific region. It includes working on new emerging technologies, it includes working on issues like climate change, infrastructure, maritime security, education and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR)."

As per the newly signed trilateral alliance, the AUKUS grouping would assist Australia in procuring nuclear-powered submarines and deal with China's military assertiveness in the strategically important Indo-Pacific region.

QUAD is a grouping of nations of the Indo-Pacific region, which China observes as a block to contain its influence in the region. This grouping vouches for a free, open, transparent and inclusive Indo-Pacific region based on international law and order.

Informing about the itinerary of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US, the Foreign Secretary said PM Modi will be leaving on September 22 and after his arrival in the US, he will first attend the Covid-19 Summit.

On September 24, PM Modi will hold bilateral talks with US President Joe Biden. He will also hold bilateral discussions with his counterparts from Australia and Japan.

On the same day, the heads of QUAD member nations will meet to discuss the Indo-Pacific region among other issues.

On September 25, the Prime Minister will address the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York and will likely take up the issues of cross border terrorism, the current situation in Afghanistan, climate change, emerging technologies. (IANS)

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