Coming of Age|| April 2021

Ajay Singh

The meeting of Quad leaders on 12 March 2021, did not have the grand photos shoots and visuals that usually accompany a meet of such significance. But then the four leaders—US President Joe Biden, Prime Ministers Narendra Modi, Scott Morrison of Australia, and Yoshihide Suga of Japan—held only a virtual meet on camera. But what the meeting lacked in optics, it made up in substance. It set the tone for developing the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue from just a talk shop into what could become a comprehensive security framework for the Indo-Pacific. After years of dithering, it seems that Quad is finally coming of age.

The enthusiasm with which the four nations have embraced it is a far cry from the hesitancy and pussy-footing which has characterised the grouping ever since it was first conceived in 2007 after the Tsunami that hit the Indian Ocean. That developed into a series of naval exercises with all four nations, but the move collapsed when China issued a sharp demarche condemning the move as directed against China. Australia left after a year, and none of the other powers—including India—showed any great urgency to pursue it. Perhaps the Chinese were right in describing it as ‘foam on the sea.’ Quad could have dissipated as such, had it not been galvanised, ironically by China’s activities itself.

It took the Wuhan virus, ruthless expansionism in the China Seas, a crackdown in Hong Kong, innumerable human rights abuses against the Uighurs in Xinjiang and of course, the shedding of Indian blood in Eastern Ladakh before the world awoke to the extent with which China was following its hyper nationalist agenda. As China expanded into the Indo-Pacific—riding roughshod as it extended its claims—it had already become too big and too strong to be countered individually—even by a super-power such as the US. That has galvanised this alliance ‘for a free and open Indo-Pacific’ and could make it a defining alliance, perhaps on the lines of an Asian NATO.

The Takeaways from the Summit

The Quad Summit was the first meeting of world leaders that Joe Biden attended. Coming within two months of taking over as President, it indicates his priorities. It was the first time that all the leaders of Quad nations had got together (albeit on a virtual platform). It was also the first time that a joint statement was issued. This statement ‘reviewed common challenges across the Indo-Pacific’ and committed itself to a ‘free and rules-based order for security and prosperity in the region.’ China was not mentioned at all, but the implications of the statement were clear. The slew of initiatives that were announced signaled that Quad was evolving from just being a security dialogue to a holistic framework, incorporating aspects of economic, military and technological security.

The most significant was the Quad Vaccine Partnership which will pool in resources to roll out one billion doses of the Covid-19 vaccine by 2