India does not endorse Japanese PM Ishiba's Asian NATO vision, asserts Jaishankar

Jaishankar noted that, unlike Japan, India has never been a treaty ally of another nation.

India does not endorse the concept of an "Asian NATO" proposed by Japan's new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated on Tuesday. Speaking at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, Jaishankar noted that, unlike Japan, India has never been a treaty ally of another nation.

Responding to questions regarding Ishiba's vision, Jaishankar remarked, "We don't have that kind of strategic architecture in mind." He pointed out that India and Japan, together with the United States and Australia, are part of the Quad—an alliance formed to counterbalance China's growing influence in the region.

Jaishankar elaborated, "We have... a different history and different ways of approaching [security]." He recently participated in the UN General Assembly in New York and is scheduled to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell later on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Ishiba aims to strengthen alliances to address what he deems the most serious security threats Japan has faced since World War II. He has proposed the establishment of an Asian NATO, the stationing of Japanese troops on US soil, and shared control of US nuclear weapons as a deterrent against nuclear-armed neighbors such as China, Russia, and North Korea. Ishiba believes these measures would deter China from resorting to military force in Asia.

The United States has dismissed the notion of an Asian NATO. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stated last year that Washington was not interested in forming a NATO-like alliance in the Indo-Pacific. Earlier this month, Daniel Kritenbrink, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific, reiterated that it is too early to consider such an organization.

Despite the pushback, Ishiba reinforced his proposal on Friday, asserting at a press conference that the "relative decline of US might" necessitates the creation of an Asian treaty organisation.

On September 21, PM Modi participated in a Quad summit alongside US President Joe Biden, former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, and Australia's Prime Minister, during which they announced joint security initiatives in Asia's trade-rich waters in light of rising challenges from China. Nevertheless, India has clarified that the Quad is not designed to function as a military alliance, even as it increasingly engages with security issues.