Context:
Calling for justice for the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai (2008) and the Pathankot airbase attack (2016) for the first time since the group was formed, the Foreign Ministers of Australia, India, Japan and the U.S. said the Quad was already cooperating on sharing intelligence on threats in the Indo-Pacific region.
Relevance:
GS II: Groupings & Agreements Involving India and/or Affecting India’s Interests
Dimensions of the Article:
- Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD):
- Purpose of Quad
- Significance of Quad
- What will be Quad’s Agenda?
- Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD):
- Indo-Pacific strategy
- The Quad is an informal strategic forum comprising four nations, namely –India, United States of America, Australia and Japan.
- One of the primary objectives of the Quad is, to work for a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.
- The group for the first time met in 2007 on the side lines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
- It is considered an alliance of maritime democracies.
- The forum is maintained through meetings, semi-regular summits, information exchanges, and military drills of all the member countries.
- The motive behind the Quad is, to keep the strategic sea routes in the Indo-Pacific, free of any military or political influence.
- The core objective of the Quad is, to secure a rules-based global order, freedom of navigation and, a liberal trading system.
- The coalition also aims to offer, alternative debt financing for nations in the Indo-Pacific region.
Purpose of Quad:
- Recently the U.S. has clarified that Quad is not a security or military partnership.
- Its purpose is to advance cooperation on key priorities in specific sectors that is consistent with international law
- It promotes shared values of its members and underpins peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
- A U.S. State Department spokesperson said that “We work to support the rule of law, freedom of navigation and overflight, peaceful resolution of disputes, democratic values, and territorial integrity through open dialogue and information sharing on a diverse set of issue areas, including Maritime Security”.
Significance of Quad:
Quad is becoming a powerful mechanism and its significance is given below:
- Helping to vaccinate a big part of the world and getting a lot of vaccines out there,
- Strengthening maritime security to push back against aggression and coercion in the Indo-Pacific region,
- Working together on emerging technologies and making sure that they can be used in positive ways and an increasingly broad and deep agenda.
- It also supports many activities/platforms as part of its shared approach to the Indo-Pacific.
What will be Quad’s Agenda?
- China’s challenges to the “rules based order” and democratic values will feature in the Quad’s agenda.
- Chinese expansion in South China Sea when the world aims to stop the pandemic.
- The meet is also important as tensions rise between the US and its allies and Russia rises due to the Ukraine issue.
Indo-Pacific strategy
- The Biden administration announced its long-awaited Indo-Pacific strategy.
- The document focuses on building collective capacity to deal with challenges in the region — China’s assertiveness, the pandemic and climate change, among others.
- The policies set out in the document have continuity with previous administrations’ strategies.
- These include a focus on challenges from China, advancing the U.S. relationship, a major defence partnership with India and supporting its role as a net security provider in the region.
- There is an emphasis on working with other countries not just from the region, but also from beyond.
-Source: The Hindu
