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QUAD - Past, Present and Future

QUAD, also known as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or simply the Quad, is a strategic forum comprising four countries: the United States, Japan, India, and Australia. 

  • The Quad is aimed at promoting regional security and economic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. 
  • The four countries share a common interest in maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific, promoting democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, and countering China''s expanding influence in the region. 
  • The Quad has held several meetings at the ministerial and leaders'' level to discuss issues such as maritime security, infrastructure development, and supply chain resilience. 
  • The Quad is seen as a mechanism for balancing China''s influence in the region, although its members have stressed that it is not a military alliance and is open to other countries who share their values and interests.

Outcomes of the Quad Summit 2024

Maritime Security
     1. MAITRI maritime initiative- It is a new regional maritime initiative for training the Quad Partners to monitor and secure their waters, enforce their laws and deter unlawful behaviour. The inaugural symposium will be hosted by India in 2025.
     2. Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA)- The Quad will expand this partnership to enhance regional capabilities against illicit maritime activities through improved training and resources.
    3. Quad Coast Guard Cooperation- This initiative seeks to improve interoperability among coast guard forces of member nations. Also, a Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission has been scheduled for 2025.
Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief

  1. Indo-Pacific Logistics Network Pilot-A joint airlift capability will be developed to enhance the efficiency of humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations in the Indo-Pacific region.
  2. Aid and Assistance for Cyclone Yagi-$4 million in humanitarian assistance has been announced for Vietnam following Typhoon Yagi.
    Health Initiatives
  3. Quad Cancer Moonshot Initiative- This initiative aims to combat cervical cancer by promoting increased HPV vaccinations, expanding access to screenings, and enhancing treatment options across the Indo-Pacific region.

Education and Research

  1.  Quad Scholarships- India has announced a new initiative offering fifty scholarships worth $500,000 for students from the Indo-Pacific to pursue education in various fields.
  2. Quad BioExplore Initiative- This Quad initiative will focus on joint research of utilizing AI for agricultural advancements across member countries.

Infrastructure and Connectivity

  1. Centre for Cable Connectivity and Resilience- This centre will focus on developing and managing undersea cable networks critical for global data traffic, enhancing regional digital infrastructure.
  2. Quality Infrastructure Development- The Quad is committed to improving connectivity through sustainable infrastructure projects, including training initiatives for telecommunications readiness in South Pacific nations.

Climate Change and Clean Energy

  • Quad Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Package (Q-CHAMP)- The Q-CHAMP initiative aims to enhance resilience against climate impacts across the region.

Genesis

  • 2007: The Quad was initially formed in 2007 during an informal meeting of leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It was Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who first proposed the idea of creating the Quad.
  • 2012: The Japanese Prime Minister highlighted the concept of the ''Democratic Security Diamond'' in Asia, which includes the US, Japan, India, and Australia.
  • 2017: Once again confronted with the growing danger posed by China, the four nations revitalized the Quad by expanding its goals and devising a system that aimed to gradually establish an international order based on rules.
    • India, Japan, USA, and Australia held the first ''Quad'' talks in Manila ahead of the ASEAN Summit 2017.
  • 2020: The trilateral India-US-Japan Malabar naval exercises expanded to include Australia, marking the first official grouping of the Quad since its resurgence in 2017 and the first joint military exercises among the four countries in over a decade.
  • 2021: The Quad leaders met virtually and later released a joint statement titled ‘The Spirit of the Quad’.

QUAD Functions

  • The Quad is a loose grouping rather than a formal alliance. It does not have a decision-making body or a secretariat, or a formal structure like NATO or the United Nations.
  • The alliance is maintained through summits, meetings, information exchanges, and military drills.
  • The Quadrilateral met five times in 2017–2019. During the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi in 2018, the navy chiefs of Japan, US, Australia, and India came together, one of the first indications of the revival of the Quad''s security structure.
  • Since March 2021, member states of the Quad and their leaders have hosted regular “Leaders Summits”, which have been both online and in-person.
  • In the month of March 2021, the Quad leaders met virtually for the first time. In September 2021, the first in-person meeting of Quad leaders was held. A similar summit of Quad leaders is being hosted by Japan.

Prospects of the QUAD grouping

The QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) grouping, which comprises Australia, India, Japan, and the United States, has several important prospects, including

  • Strengthening regional security: The QUAD aims to enhance security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region by promoting a rules-based order, freedom of navigation, and respect for international law.
  • Countering China''s rise: The QUAD is seen as a response to China''s growing assertiveness in the region. The member countries seek to balance China''s rise and prevent it from altering the status quo in the region.
  • Promoting economic cooperation: The member countries are major economies in the region and seek to promote economic cooperation. In May 2022, Quad countries decided to allocate $50 Billion for infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific region.
  • Building maritime security capacity: The member countries have been conducting joint naval exercises and maritime patrols to enhance their maritime security capacity and interoperability.
  • Strengthening people-to-people ties: The QUAD aims to promote people-to-people ties through academic and cultural exchanges and enhance disaster relief and humanitarian assistance capabilities. Example: 
  • Cooperation in debt management: Resolving debt issues under the G20 Common Framework through the ''Quad Debt Management Resource Portal’.

QUAD Significance

The significance of QUAD for India can be analyzed through

  • Strategic importance: It is a platform to discuss and address the common challenges faced by the Indo-Pacific region, such as the rise of China and its increasing assertiveness in the region through ‘String of pearls’ theory.
  • Economic significance: The member countries have launched several initiatives like the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor, the Blue Dot Network, and the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative to promote economic development in the region. India is mostly at the receiving end of investments by QUAD countries.
  • Maritime security: QUAD is useful for Indian maritime security by conducting joint naval exercises and coordinating on issues like freedom of navigation, piracy, and illegal fishing.
  • Regional stability: QUAD is significant for India in promoting regional stability in the Indo-Pacific region. It is based on the principles of a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific and aims to promote a rules-based international order.
  • Post-COVID diplomacy: Due to disruptions in the supply chain during the pandemic, Japan and the US want to shift their manufacturing companies out of China in order to curb their imperialistic behaviour, which could be capitalized on by India as well.

QUAD Outcomes

  • Mixed Global response:
    • Russian response: Russian foreign minister calls it "Asian NATO". Russia had sharply criticized the Quad as part of a US-led ‘persistent, aggressive and devious’ policy.
    • Chinese response: China has decried the grouping as an “Indo-Pacific NATO” accusing it of “trumpeting the Cold War mentality” and “stoking geopolitical rivalry.”
    • Western countries: They reaffirm the Quad’s commitment to supporting Indo-Pacific countries’ efforts to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific – a region which is inclusive and resilient, and in which states strive to protect the interests of their people, free from coercion.
  • Quad Initiatives: 
    • QUAD fellowship: for pursuing a doctorate in STEM courses.
    • Quad Vaccine Partnership: to boost vaccine partnership.
    • Covid-19 Global Action Plan to enhance coordination in recovery efforts during the Covid pandemic.
    • Quad Vaccine Experts Group: for cooperation in vaccine strategy.
    • Quad Senior Cyber Group: for adoption and implementation of shared cyber standards.
    • Cooperation in the space sector: Sharing satellite data.
    • Quad Climate Working group: for adaptation to climate change and to build capacity in other Indo-Pacific.
    • Critical and emerging technologies: cooperation in critical technologies essential for digital economies globally.
    • The Quad members in the 2022 summit decided to counter non-traditional security challenges, such as illegal fishing.

QUAD Group Limitations

Here are some limitations and challenges of the QUAD grouping with subheadings:

  • Lacks definitive structure: The QUAD grouping lacks a formal structure with a secretariat or any permanent decision-making body. 
  • Difficulty in addressing China''s concerns: The QUAD grouping is viewed with suspicion by China, which sees it as an attempt to contain its rise. This makes it challenging for the group to engage with China in a constructive manner, which may cause tension between the member countries.
  • Imbalanced cooperation: The members do not have the same levels of financial resources, strategic awareness, and military capabilities in the Indian Ocean. This creates an imbalance in cooperation, which might create problems in the future.
  • Limited military capabilities: The QUAD members have varying levels of military capabilities, with the US being the most powerful and Australia being the least. This could limit the group''s ability to take action if needed.
  • Domestic politics: Domestic political considerations could limit the ability to cooperate with one another. For example, India''s domestic politics could make it difficult for the country to align itself too closely with the US.
  • Geopolitical challenges: The challenges such as territorial disputes, regional tensions, and non-traditional security threats, will require a coordinated and sustained effort from the QUAD members, which may be difficult.
  • Lack of coherent actions: The QUAD grouping has not taken any concrete action to address the issues in the Indo-Pacific region. The lack of coherent actions can undermine the group''s credibility and effectiveness in addressing regional challenges.

“Quad Plus” process

The launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) coincided with the Quad summit,  signifying the essence of the Quad and its extension as a “plus” grouping.

IPEF complement the “Quad Plus” process

  • The IPEF complements the “Quad Plus” process. It brings together seven critical countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), all Quad states, and dialogue partners, including South Korea, solidifying a case for the “plus” characterisation of the Quad process. 
  • The IPEF strongly imbibes a Quad Plus character at a time when two of the largest economies of the world, namely India and the US, are not a part of the China-led or ASEAN-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) or the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP; China is still an applicant). 
    • Thus, it is an encouraging sign that the Quad countries are investing their strategic orientation in this regard. 
  •  It would potentially represent an amalgamation of the eastern and western “like-minded” countries. Even in its current abstract framework, it includes a wide array of states (which also comprise the IPEF) — developing and developed economies as well as middle and major powers that are committed to maintaining an inclusive, rules-based and liberal institutional order.
  • The IPEF covers fair trade, supply chain resilience, infrastructure, clean energy, and decarbonisation, among others .
    • It  is likely to complement the other Indo-Pacific projects like the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI, founded by the three Quad states, Japan, Australia, and India) that also seeks to build resilient and secure trade linkages by reducing dependence on China.

Issues /Challenges

  • China has formally intimated its displeasure over the QUAD meetings.
    • The narrative of the Quad as an anti-China tool (with a range of epithets, from “sea foam” to “Asian NATO”) promoted by China along with its belligerent tactics in the neighbourhood .
      • Japan and India are closest to China, and both face belligerent Chinese claims to territory
  • QUAD’s coherence may suffer due to
  • India’s bid to balance QUAD and RIC (Russia, India and China),
  • The reluctance shown by Australia for QUAD in past,
  • Japan and the US are seeking their own economic interests with China.
  • Also there is a lack of coherence on the definition of Indo-Pacific.
  • Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shaken up the old world order, reshaping geopolitics across the world.
    • As the leader of the Western alliance against Russia, the US is now deeply engaged with the war
    •  This might adversely impact US commitment to the Quad and the Indo-Pacific.
  • The war in Ukraine also poses an internal challenge in the Quad. 
    • Three members — US, Japan and Australia — have taken an unequivocal stand against Russia’s aggression, while India’s position has been one of studied neutrality that calls for respect of territorial sovereignty and integrity and the UN charter, but does not criticise Russia. 
  • A Quad  “plus” framework based more on a shared commitment to the existing international order rather than “democratic values” that are harder to define and more exclusive in nature. 

The Quad Plus should strengthen cooperation on critical topics in the Quad’s agenda (for instance, security, critical technology, global health, climate action). Countries must envision a broad, all-embracing, and comprehensive framework that can stand as a pillar for regional security and stability, multilateralism, and defence of global institutionalism and the status quo. The expanded grouping and the related Quad initiatives will build a comprehensive and integrated approach to combating shared challenges arising out of Xi Jinping’s push to promote manoeuvres that achieve his ultimate goal of rejuvenating China’s glorious past and transforming it into an absolute great power.

Future prospects of QUAD

  • Strengthening commitment and engagement: Holding regular meetings of leaders, officials, and working groups, Expanding engagement with other countries in the region.
  • Communicating clear intentions: Communicating clear intentions that the grouping is not directed against any particular country, Emphasizing the shared interests and benefits for all countries in the region.
  • Delivering concrete outcomes: Developing joint infrastructure projects to promote regional economic integration, Addressing common challenges such as climate change or maritime security, and Promoting connectivity and digital cooperation.
  • Building a consultative mechanism: Building a consultative mechanism with ASEAN and other regional organizations to promote coordination and cooperation, Sharing information and intelligence on shared challenges and threats.
  • Strengthening military and strategic cooperation: Expanding cooperation in the areas of cybersecurity, space, and emerging technologies, Developing joint capabilities and defense interoperability, Strengthening military-to-military cooperation and information sharing.
  • QUAD Plus: In 2020, the intent for the Plus format was strengthened when the United States hosted a meeting of Quad nations, which also included Brazil, Israel, and South Korea, to discuss a global response to COVID-19.


POSTED ON 12-09-2024 BY ADMIN
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