Jaipur, 4 Feb (HS): According to US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti, India is in the “driving seat” of the Quad, with USA in the seat next to it with the corrective steering wheel, and it is up to India to strongly define the character of the diplomatic cooperation.
Garcetti, speaking at the 17th Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), offered the unusual analogy of ‘eating, drinking, and taking a journey together’ to highlight the various functions of member nations in the Quad. The Quad is a diplomatic cooperation formed by India, the United States, Australia, and Japan to strengthen economic, political, and military ties.
?India is very much in the driver’s seat of the Quad… perhaps America is in the next seat with the corrective steering wheel. I believe Japan has been an avid navigator from the start, and Australia is very excited to be back in the car, asking if everyone has enough to drink and eat, as well as where we are going. So we’re having a terrific time and enjoying our various jobs. I’d want to sit in the back and relax another time, but it’s up to India to most aggressively articulate what we want to achieve with the Quad,” Garcetti said during a session titled Heart of the Matter: Quad and the New Indo-Pacific Vision.
The 53-year-old believes the Quad may be a “model for the world” since it is “very strong and stable” not just in geometry but also in diplomacy, surpassing international organizations such as the United Nations, which he claims “don’t have much efficacy”. “Bilaterals are always engaging but the two countries get a little bored of each other when it is just direct,” he said. Garcetti added another comparison to help illustrate his position. “It is like a dinner party, invite three people, it gets more interesting, four people, now you have a party, when others want to come to the party… now you know you have got something special,” he went on to say.
Though he conceded that the Quad is not a group in which the four member nations agree on every vote in international organizations, Garcetti also stated that it is not a “talk shop”.
He provided instances of the work being done by member countries in semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and space initiatives.
“We can discuss domain awareness in the Indian Ocean, which is now developing and progressing. Space initiatives that are not only talk but are most likely as strong as anywhere on Earth. So I don’t believe it’s a talk shop, but it’s also not going to be a place where you can say, “Hey!” He emphasized how we would all vote at the UN together.”
Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull stated that instead of dwelling on why the Quad has not evolved into a full-fledged strategic alliance, one can consider how far it has come since its formation in 2007. He referred to it as the Quad case, or the same bed, different dreams. “The point is that while some of our aspirations differ, we share many others, which Shinzo Abe stated in his initial vision. Countries that are committed to freedom will not agree on every issue, but they will be able to stand together to defend freedom, sovereignty, and the openness that democracy requires,” said Turnbull, who was a key figure in the Quad’s reinstatement in 2017.
Following China’s complaints, the Quad group, which had first met in 2007, was put on hold. It was restored in 2017, following a ten-year hiatus, in response to China’s rising assertiveness in international affairs. Philip Green, the Australian ambassador to India, and Shyam Saran, the former foreign secretary, also attended the event. The JLF 2024, billed as the “biggest literary festival in the world,” will feature participation from the world’s top thinkers, writers, and lecturers until February 5.
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