QUAD Leaders’ Summit – 2021

Discussed issues across Indo-Pacific and the military takeover in Myanmar

• US President Joe Biden hosted the first-ever in-person Quad Summit on September 24, 2021, in Washington
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited US to attend the Quad Leaders summit and address the UN General Assembly in New York
• Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga also attended the Quad summit

Key highlights of the Summit

• The focus was on pressing crises, such as Covid-19, climate change and emerging technologies
• It pledged to promote a free, open rules-based order, rooted in international law to advance security and prosperity and counter threats to both in the Indo-Pacific and beyond
• Agreed to ensure “equitable” access to vaccines to counter the pandemic
• Agreed to a plan to pool their financial resources, manufacturing capabilities and logistical strengths
• Japan, USA and Australia will finance the vaccine initiative that India has welcomed
• The Line of Actual Control (LAC) was discussed by the QUAD leaders as one of several examples of Chinese aggression
• Other issues related to Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Taiwan Strait and coercion of Australia, harassment around the Senkaku, were also discussed
• Concerns regarding Chinese cyberattacks on the USA targets (Microsoft Exchange and SolarWinds) and also cybersecurity incidents in India, Japan and Australia were discussed

Cooperation between the participating countries

• As per India, QUAD is united by its democratic values and will remain an important pillar of stability in the Indo-Pacific region
• Called the meet an extension of the ancient Indian philosophy ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, which regards the world as one family
• As per USA QUAD is not a military alliance or North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) equivalent, it is an opportunity to cooperate on economics, technology, climate and security
• As per Australia, QUAD grouping could be the start of a new, permanent and powerful regional grouping of like-minded democracies
• As per Japan, Acknowledged the new dynamism that QUAD has received because of the meeting of the top leaders of the member countries
• As per China, Exchanges and cooperation between countries should contribute to mutual understanding rather than targeting a third party and refrain from pursuing exclusive blocs

What is Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad)?

• It is a strategic dialogue between India, United States, Japan and Australia. This dialogue was initiated in 2007 by Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe. It was paralleled by joint military exercise called ‘Exercise Malabar’
• It is often dubbed as an “Asian” or “mini” NATO, and is viewed as a counterbalance to China’s military and economic clout in the Indo-Pacific region
• The 2020 US-China Economic and Security Review Commission shows China’s growing power projection along the Indian Ocean rim with military or economic activities in countries like Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Myanmar and Bangladesh
• Interestingly, the QUAD, which used to be known as the quadrilateral security dialogue, is now known as the quadrilateral framework to indicate it has gone beyond a narrow security dialogue