India says Quad Summit is important |
India on September 17 stressed that the Quad Summit is extremely important. The Indian government has chosen not to comment on the formation of a new trilateral security partnership announced between Australia, the UK and the US called `AUKUS`, focused on the Indo-Pacific region with an eye on countering China. The AUKUS alliance was announced during a virtual meeting between US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on September 15. Morrison also spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton spoke on the phone with Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. It is learned that Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne too spoke with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said all Quad partners attach a lot of importance to the Summit that is being held despite the COVID-19 issues. The White House said AUKUS is aimed to deepen the diplomatic, security, and defence cooperation of the three countries in the Indo-Pacific region, including working with partners to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The three nations also embarked on trilateral collaboration under AUKUS to enhance joint capabilities and interoperability – focusing on cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and additional undersea capabilities.
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