Trump 2.0's first; S Jaishankar attends Quad meet !! :::: "priority" - the new regime in Washington has in the foreign policy for Quad member states

Dr S Jaishankar attends Quad meet, Trump 2.0's first; bilateral with Rubio, his first

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar participated in the Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting in Washington DC and highlighted the significance of the event as it was held a day after Donald Trump's inauguration as 47th US President.

Dr Jaishankar later said Quad will continue to be a force of global good and the Quad ministers, which included Australia's Penny Wong and Takeshi Iwaya of Japan besides Rubio, agreed on intensifying collaboration among each other.

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar participated in the Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting in Washington DC -- a day after Donald Trump took oath as the US President for the second time. 

Thanking the new Secretary of State Marco Rubio for hosting the Quad meeting, Dr Jaishankar called the timing of the meeting significant. 

"This underlines the priority it has in the foreign policy of its member states," he tweeted.  

The External Affairs Minister discussed with his counterparts "different dimensions" of ensuring a free and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

"Significant that the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meet (FMM) took place within hours of the inauguration of the Trump administration. This underlines the priority it has in the foreign policy of its member states. Our wide-ranging discussions addressed different dimensions of ensuring a free, open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific," he said. 

In a broader perspective, it has to be understood that China is concerned over several European countries being drawn into the Indian Ocean (by the US and India) to participate in the Indo-Pacific strategic game.

In fact, they are also actively seeking their military presence in the region. 

China is well aware of India’s interest in reviving Russia’s role in the Indo-Pacific. 

Developments like Russia and the US participating in India’s largest maritime exercise ‘Milan’ raise alarm bells in Beijing.

"China has deep insecurity over Russia-India ties, and is much tempted to use its influence over war-ravaged Russia to drive the relationship (Russia-India) in a direction beneficial to China’s interest. 

However, China, at the same time, is mindful of Russia’s importance in forming a joint front against the geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific and thus is unwilling to alienate Russia over its longstanding relationship with India. 

It also serves the Chinese interest well to use Russia as a useful chess piece that keeps India from inching too close to the US," says an analyst in 'orfonline.org'.