Responding to Beijing’s criticism of the Quad, Jaishankar said China has been taking this line for some time and by criticising the Quad grouping repeatedly but it “doesn’t make the grouping less credible”.

These sharp words came from the External Affairs minister, who is usually very diplomatic in his choice of words especially, when it comes to China. But this reflects a deep sense of frustration on the establishment in Delhi on Beijing’s behaviour over the last 21 months.

However, he was at his diplomatic self when it came to responding to questions on Russia’s actions along the Ukrainian border. When asked, he merely said that “diplomacy is the only way out”, and did not criticise the Russians for amassing troops along the Ukrainian border, which has sparked fears of a conflict.

Payne, however, was critical of the Russian behaviour as she expressed “concern” at the “extraordinary unilateral action” by Russia and expressed “support” for “Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

So, while both Jaishankar and Payne agreed on the Chinese behaviour along the LAC, there were divergences in their public statements on the Russia-Ukraine situation.

Responding to a question on whether they had a discussion on the situation along the Line of Actual Control, Jaishankar said, “Yes, we had a discussion on India-China relations, because it was a part of how we briefed each other about what was happening in our neighbourhood. And it’s an issue in which a lot of countries legitimately take interest, particularly if they are from the Indo Pacific region, because the situation has arisen due to the disregard by China in 2020 of written agreements with us, not to amass forces at the border. So, when a large country disregards written commitments, I think it’s an issue of legitimate concern for the entire international community.”

On Quad and China’s criticism of it, Payne said, “We are not against anything. We’re about building confidence and resilience about promoting a region in which all countries are able to be and feel sovereign and secure without the threat of coercion or intimidation.” This was an oblique reference to China’s actions at the India-China LAC and in the Indo-Pacific region.

The two Foreign ministers held a meeting on the cyber security as well.

A joint statement on the cyber security dialogue said the ministers reiterated their commitment to secure, resilient and trusted technology and agreed to work together to “address the significant threat of malicious cyber activity by state and non-state actors”.

“They acknowledged the importance of the security and resilience of telecommunication networks and the need to work closely with each other to protect next generation telecommunications networks, including 5G and 6G,” it said.

The ministers emphasised the integral role of cyber and cyber-enabled critical technologies in fostering sustainable development and inclusive economic growth. They recognised the importance of diverse and trusted technology supply chains, including trusted sources and products, it said.

Recognising the importance of working collaboratively with international partners, it said the ministers agreed to undertake joint engagement with Indo-Pacific partners to collaboratively improve the region’s cyber capabilities to promote a resilient and trusted cyberspace and effective incident response.