At First ‘2+2 Dialogue’, India, Australia Discuss Changed Security Scenario in Afghanistan

On Saturday, September 11, Australian foreign minister, Marise Payne, and her defence colleague Peter Dutton held joint ‘2+2’ talks with their Indian counterparts, S. Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh.

New Delhi: At the inaugural two plus two ministerial dialogue, Indian and Australian foreign and defence ministers grappled with the changed security scenario following the return of the Taliban, including “concerns” over the composition of the new caretaker government and use of Afghan soil by terrorist organisations.

On Saturday, Australian foreign minister, Marise Payne, and her defence colleague Peter Dutton held joint ‘2+2’ talks with their Indian counterparts, S. Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh. With this meeting, India has instituted ‘2+2’ format talks with all ‘Quad’ members. The first ‘2+2’ meeting with the US was held in 2018, followed by Japan in 2019.

At the end of the discussions, Jaishankar told reporters that there had been a “detailed exchange of views” over Afghanistan.

On August 15, the Taliban walked into Kabul, completing their re-conquest of Afghanistan 20 years after being thrown out due to the US invasion after 9/11. The last US troops left Kabul airport on August 31, and the Taliban announced a new caretaker government earlier this week.

“Our approach is very similar. In one way, it is summed up by the UN Security Council resolution 2593, which emphasises most of all that Afghanistan must not allow its soil to be used in any manner by anybody for terrorism,” said the Indian minister.

He referred to the resolution passed by the UN’s main body in charge of peace and security on August 30 that called on the Taliban to adhere to its commitment to not allowing its territory to be used by any terror group or entity against any other country.

“Apart from that, there were concerns about the inclusiveness of the dispensation, concerns about the treatment of women, children and minorities, concerns related to travel of Afghans, issues related to humanitarian assistance,” stated Jaishankar.

While the Taliban emphasised the ‘caretaker’ nature of the government, the lack of diversity in the cabinet has run alarm bells in many world capitals. Out of 33 members, all but three are from the dominant Pashtun community. There were no women members.

Stating that Australia also shared interest in counter-terrorism, Payne also added that Canberra was “very focussed on seeking safe passage for those in Afghanistan citizens, foreign nationals, visa holders of other countries who seek to leave Afghanistan and we have urged that they be allowed to leave safely, and means are available to do so”.

Both the ministers remembered the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that had ushered the Afghan republic but has now become history.

Over 39,000 Australian soldiers have served in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led military coalition. Australia had evacuated 4,100 people on 32 flights from Kabul before the evacuation efforts were brought to a halt by the twin bomb attacks near the airport on August 26.

Payne also highlighted disquiet that the status of women would regress under the Taliban regime.  “There are many (Afghan) women and girls who attest to the achievements of those two decades, and Australia stands with other members of the international community seeking that it is not wound back and the participation of women and girls in their own way and in a just way is allowed to continue”.

Incidentally, Cricket Australia has called off its scheduled test match with Afghanistan if the Taliban did not allow women to play sport.

During the media interaction, Jaishankar said that the description of the ‘Quad’, comprising of US, Japan, Australia and India, as an ‘Asian NATO’ was a ‘cold war’ formulation.

“We call ourselves Quad, and Quad is a platform where four countries have come to cooperate for their benefit and for the benefit of the world. I think a term like NATO is very much a cold war term, looking back. I think Quad looks to the future. It reflects globalisation. It reflects the compulsions of countries to work together,” he said.

He also said that Quad members were more focused on issues like supply chains, connectivity and vaccines.

“We also say that we have a positive and practical agenda – around vaccines, around climate, around critical technology also trying to address some of the dangerous misinformation that pervades the world experience in relation to the (Covid) pandemic,” added Payne.

At the first summit of Quad leaders held in March, there had been a high-profile announcement about the distribution of one billion covid-19 vaccine doses, using India’s manufacturing capacity in pharmaceuticals. However, the devastating second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic had put a question mark on the program’s timeline.

Later this month, the leaders of the four Quad countries will meet in person for their first physical summit in Washington.

In a strong signal, all the Quad members participated in the Malabar naval exercise, with Australia joining the other three in November 2020.

On bilateral issues, Jaishankar stated that he asked his counterpart to take a sympathetic view about the difficulties faced by Indian students in travelling to Australia due to travel restrictions.

“The frustrations felt by students and their parents are completely understandable. Students would like to be in the institutions where they were studying or were already studying. We discussed it in some detail today. Minister Payne also told me what Australia thinks about this situation,” he said.

Payne responded that Australian rules were based on scientific research and modelling to allow for relaxing restrictions based on the vaccination level. “We are on our way to vaccinating Australians to a level which will give us the confidence to reopen in a manner that will enable students to return in phase 3 and phase 4. There is a shared desire on both sides to see that travel resumes,” she stated.