Australia And India Value US Election Results Will Not Affect Quad Groups

JAKARTA - Australian and Indian Foreign Ministers said on Tuesday they believed the Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) group consisting of the United States, India, Australia, and Japan would continue to work together in the Indo-Pacific region despite the results of the US Presidential Election.

The United States will hold a democratic party this Tuesday. Republican Donald Trump and the incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris of the Democratic Party will compete in the presidential election.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told reporters in Canberra she had met Mike Pompeo, who served as Secretary of State in the previous Trump Administration, ahead of the US election and conducted "very good discussions".

"One of the priorities we will discuss is AUKUS, and we are very pleased with the bipartisan support we have seen," he said, referring to the defense technology partnership between Australia, Britain and the US to transfer nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. November 5th.

Australia's most expensive defense project, the AUKUS deal was reached under President Joe Biden's Administration in 2023.

"In connection with US elections, we will work with whoever the American people choose," he said.

Quad leaders agreed in September to form joint coast guard patrols and increase military logistics cooperation.

The Quad is "very valuable" in the region, said Foreign Minister Wong.

"We see it remains important regardless of the election results," he added.

Meanwhile, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said the Quad was revived under Trump's presidency in 2017.

"When we see the American elections, we firmly believe that whatever the decision, our relationship with the United States will only grow," he said, during an official visit to Australia.

It is known, China rejects the grouping of Quad because it is considered an attempt to detain it.

Meanwhile, Australia, Japan, India, and the US say they are similar-minded democracies seeking to improve stability in the Indo-Pacific region.