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"Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal defended the peaceful purpose of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) at a press conference in Delhi on Friday. "The Quad, the four countries together, the Quad is for something, it is not against anybody. Quad is about doing projects together for the benefit of people in the Indo-Pacific area," he stated. "Quad has an expansive agenda, and the idea there is to bring value to people's lives among the four countries of the Quad as also the countries with whom we are working in the region," the spokesperson stressed. The recent Tuesday meeting of the Quad foreign ministers – the US, Japan, India, and Australia – resulted in several new initiatives, including maritime surveillance across the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, and a massive 20-billion-dollar (17.1-billion-EUR) critical minerals framework. In response, Beijing condemned the grouping, warning that regional cooperation should not target third parties or undermine trust between countries in the Indo-Pacific. It comes after India and China held the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) meeting on the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh on Wednesday. According to the spokesperson, the talks were 'constructive and forward-looking'. "The two sides discussed issues relating to delimitation, border management, mechanism building and border cooperation,” Jaiswal stated. "We want to take forward all that was agreed during the SR (Special Representatives) talks, and the two sides also agreed to work together to make substantive preparation for the next round of SR talks, which is to be held in China now." During the WMCC meeting, the two nations agreed to prepare for the 25th round of SR talks on the India-China boundary question, but the exact date is to be announced later. Meanwhile, a US trade delegation will arrive in India on June 1 to finalise the landmark trade pact covering market access and Section 301 tariffs, to avoid steep reciprocal tariffs set to take effect on June 9. "We are expecting a team from the United States to visit India next week, where negotiations will be taken forward. So far we have had a positive and constructive engagement," Jaiswal commented. The spokesperson also confirmed that 14 Indian-flagged vessels have entered the country after passing through the Strait of Hormuz, while 11 remain in the Gulf region. The Indian government is maintaining diplomatic conversations with Iran to secure the safe passage of these remaining ships out of the region."
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