What Is Quad? Which Countries Are In Quad Alliance & What Is The Purpose Of Quad?

Recently Quad members organized a meeting to discuss the situation of conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Check the details of what QUAD actually is, what is its purpose below.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the recent Quad Summit said that the world needs to “return to a path of dialogue and diplomacy” to resolve the crisis in Ukraine. He made the remarks at a virtual summit of Quad leaders. QUAD is a Quadrilateral Security Dialogue that is a strategic relationship between 4 nations - the United States of America, India, Japan & Australia.

United States President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also took part in the recent summit. The four leaders issued a joint statement which read they, “agreed to stand up a new humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mechanism which will enable the Quad to meet future humanitarian challenges in the Indo-Pacific and provide a channel for communication as they each address and respond to the crisis in Ukraine.”

What is Quad or QSD

1- The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD) also known as Quad, is an Inter-governmental security forum.

2- It comprises of 4 countries-- India, the United States, Japan and Australia. The member countries of the Quad organise summits, exchanges information and military drills.

3- In the year 2007, Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe proposed the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. The forum was joined by the Vice President of the US Dick Cheney, Prime Minister John Howard of Australia and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. It was paralleled by joint military exercises of an unprecedented scale with the name Exercise Malabar.

4- The diplomatic relations between the four nations and the military arrangement was interpreted as a response to Chinese economic and military power. Soon after this, before any formal convention of the members of the forum, the Government of China issued formal diplomatic protests to all four members of the Quadrilateral.

5- In February 2008, Australia withdrew itself from the quadrilateral over diplomatic protests from China. This was after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd took office and a joint naval exercise between Singapore and the Quad was carried out.

6- The quad discontinued after the withdrawal of Australia. Also, the then Prime Minister of Japan Yasuo Fukuda was Beijing-friendly and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited China and laid stress on India-China relations.

7- Nearly after 9 years, during the 2017 ASEAN Summits, all the four members agreed to rejoin the quadrilateral to revive the previously existing alliance. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Donald Trump, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan agreed in Manila to revive the security pact amid tensions in the South China Sea by China and its growing territorial ambitions.

8- In March 2020, the officials of the Quad met to discuss the unprecedented pandemic and were for the first time joined by New Zealand, South Korea and Vietnam.

Quad: Background

1- China is claiming the Nine-Dash line in the South China Sea. It is constructing its first overseas base in Djibouti.

2- China is also doing surface and subsurface activities in the Indian Ocean beyond the Malacca Straits. This is a big red flag for countries like India and Japan.

3- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe brought about the concept of Asia's 'Democratic Security Diamond' for the second time in December 2012 to safeguard the maritime commons from the Indian Ocean to the western pacific of the quad nations.

4- Quad is heavily condemned by the Chinese government because they think it is the Asian version of NATO i.e. North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

How does India benefit from Quad?

1- This naval space is vital for China more than the land grabbing attempts in the Himalayas because a large portion of Chinese trade is dependent on these very routes that pass through the Indian Ocean and these naval checkpoints. Thus, if China shows aggression on the borders, India can easily stop Chinese trade with the help of the Quad Nations.

2- This situation is not like the continental situation where China and Pakistan are secret friends. This naval sphere is fully in control of India, where India can form a coalition and do other forms of strategic exploration.

3- In recent times, this naval sphere has seen a rising interest in securing the region. After the birth of the Indo-Pacific concept, many European nations put forward their Indo-Pacific Strategies.

4- As India is located at the heart of the Indo-pacific region the geopolitical imagination is dreaming of a "Broader Asia" that can extend its influence away from geopolitical boundaries.

3- India with the help of other member nations of Quad can keep a check on the imperialist policies of China in the Indian Ocean region, ensuring growth and safety for all.