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Mahesh

23/09/24 08:59 AM IST

Quad grouping

In News
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the United States, where he will participate in the fourth Quad Leaders Summit in Wilmington.
About Quad
  • Following the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004, India, Japan, Australia, and the US created an informal alliance to collaborate on disaster relief efforts.
  • In 2007, then PM of Japan, Shinzo Abe, formalised the alliance, as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or the Quad.
  • The Quad is not structured like a typical multilateral organisation, and lacks a secretariat and any permanent decision-making body (like the EU or UN).
  • Instead, it has focused on expanding existing agreements between member countries and highlighting their shared values.
  • Additionally, unlike NATO, the Quad does not include provisions for collective defence, instead choosing to conduct joint military exercises as a show of unity and diplomatic cohesion.
  • In 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.
  • In March 2021, the Quad leaders met virtually and later released a joint statement titled ‘The Spirit of the Quad,’ which outlined the group’s approach and objectives. The first in-person meeting was held in Washington DC, later that year.
Objectives of Quad
  • The group’s primary objectives include maritime security, addressing the risks of climate change, creating an ecosystem for investment in the region, and boosting technological innovation.
  • In 2020-21, the grouping also collaborated to combat the Covid-19 crisis, especially vis-à-vis vaccine diplomacy.
  • Quad members have also indicated a willingness to expand the partnership through a so-called Quad Plus that would include South Korea, New Zealand, and Vietnam, amongst others.
  • China, on its part, has consistently opposed the Quad’s existence.
  • In 2018, the Chinese Foreign Minister referred to the Quad as a “headline-grabbing idea”, and Beijing has openly accused the grouping of inciting discord among countries in Asia.
  • Beijing sees Quad’s existence as a part of a larger strategy to encircle China.
Source- Indian Express

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