‘No Reshaping Indo-Pacific without India’: Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong

Australian foreign minister Penny Wong said India is a “great power” and it brings fresh perspectives when it comes to tackling current issues. Her comments came during the panel discussion themed: “The Quad Squad: Power and Purpose of the Polygon”.

“India is a critical power, a great power in the region that there is no reshaping of the Indo-Pacific without India. We’ve seen that India is a civilisational power that brings a different perspective to some of the challenges of our time,” Wong said during her discussion in a response to a question raised by the President of Observer Research Foundation (ORF) Samir Saran on Australia’s assessment of India’s growth.

“The complementarity of this configuration with the architecture of the region, I think, is demonstrated from the Australian perspective by our geography and by our interest,” the Australian foreign minister said.

The panel discussion also included Union external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his American and Japanese counterparts Antony Blinken and Yoshimasa Hayashi, respectively.

Wong also compared Quad to a lighthouse and said Australia engages with the Indo-Pacific as well as the Pacific Islander nations through Quad.

“We are like-minded in our outlook towards the region. I look at Quad as the lighthouse. It is enabling choices through principles and practical work. ASEAN’s centrality is historic and real and our engagement with the region is through ASEAN and Quad,” Wong said.

She also pointed out that in terms of geography, Australia is the smallest economy, the most southernmost economy, abounded on one side by the Indian Ocean, on the other side by the Pacific, ASEAN and particularly the northern countries of ASEAN.

Following the meeting of foreign ministers of Quad member-states a joint statement was released where all four leaders committed to cooperate to address attempts to unilaterally subvert the UN and international system, in consultation with our partners and through multilateral and international platforms.

The foreign ministers also called for reforms in the UN and said they will support meritorious and independent candidates for elections in the UN and in international forums to maintain the integrity and impartiality of the international system.

The minister condemned terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations and also condemned the nuclear tests carried out by North Korea and the junta regime’s actions in Myanmar.

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