NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Friday said that US president-elect Donald Trump is unlikely to scale back support for the Quad, as his previous administration was instrumental in revitalising and strengthening the grouping.
Speaking at the India-Japan Forum, Jaishankar highlighted Trump’s pivotal role in upgrading the Quad from vice-ministerial to ministerial levels, crediting the former administration for its significant contribution to the alliance’s resurgence.
“The Quad, this time, was actually restarted by the Trump administration,” Jaishankar noted, adding that the grouping has grown steadily since its relaunch in 2017. He emphasised that the Quad’s framework, where all members contribute equally, aligns well with Trump’s broader views on alliances and burden-sharing.
“The Quad, this time, was actually restarted by the Trump administration. In fact, in 2017, it was the first year of the Trump administration when it started at a vice minister’s level. Then in 2019, it was again under the Trump administration that it moved from the vice minister’s level to the foreign minister’s level. In 2020, when there was almost a global lockdown, one of the few physical diplomatic meetings which took place in the calendar year 2020 was actually a Quad meeting in Tokyo. So, if I were to go by the past record, in fact, I would argue that the Trump administration deserves a lot of the credit for the takeoff of the Quad in its second incarnation and the fact that the Quad has since advanced would only validate their judgment,” Jaishankar stated.
With Donald Trump securing a second term as US President, Jaishankar expressed optimism about the new administration’s support for the Quad. “And there is every reason for us to expect that they would say, we got it right the first time. It’s done well and therefore, we should keep with it. I think that’s a reasonable extrapolation from where they started,” he added.
The minister also addressed concerns about alliances and burden-sharing, which were often raised during Trump’s earlier tenure. “In many ways, most of us are conversant with President Trump’s views about alliances and America’s share and burden-sharing. Now, those concerns and those arguments actually don’t apply to the Quad at all because you know Quad is a kind of everybody pays their fair share. So it’s like everybody goes for dinner and you split the bill, and everybody thinks it’s the right thing to do,” Jaishankar explained.
The Quad comprises India, the United States, Japan, and Australia. Since its formal revival, it has witnessed significant development, with six summits held so far. The latest in-person summit was hosted by US President Joe Biden in Delaware in September, while India is set to host the next Quad Summit in 2025, as per the Ministry of External Affairs.
Addressing perceptions of “weak links” within the Quad, Jaishankar noted that such debates arise from the diverse histories and priorities of its member nations. He remarked, “Often what happens is when you don’t agree on an issue, then another country would come and say, you know, that country is a weak link. I mean in our country, very frankly, people have said Japan is the weak link at times. I mean there were times when the administration transitioned in the United States. Nobody was initially sure how the transition would affect the Quad.”
The minister recalled initial concerns regarding Australia’s commitment to the Quad but emphasised that such issues are now resolved. “Today we are beyond that phase. I don’t think there is a weak link in the Quad at all. In fact, if you ask, let us say, somebody like Mike Pompeo saying, okay, at the end of your tenure as Secretary of State, tell me four or five big achievements, he would put Quad one of them. I suspect if you ask Tony Blinken the same question next month, he’ll probably give you the same answer,” he said.
The Quad’s evolution over the years is reflected in its expanding agenda. Jaishankar observed, “Meeting by meeting, quarter by quarter, year by year, level by level, Quad is actually growing. You look at the agenda of Quad, it’s actually one of the most expansive sort of intergovernmental coordination that is today in evidence.”
Since 2021, the Quad Leaders’ Summits have alternated between virtual and in-person formats, hosted by member nations, with the upcoming summit in India expected to further bolster the alliance’s objectives.
