A Quad’s Rise In The Indo-Pacific That’s Rich With Irony For Beijing

Context: Highlighting major takeaways and opportunities from the first Quad virtual summit, 2021

Takeaways from first Quad virtual summit, 2021

• The first joint statement- ‘The Spirit of the Quad’: Committed four members to –
  • Promote a free, open rules-based order, rooted in international law;
  • Advance security and prosperity and counter threats to both in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
  • Supporting “the rule of law, freedom of navigation and overflight, peaceful resolution of disputes, democratic values, and territorial integrity.”
• Looking beyond China challenge: Focus on economic and health impacts of covid-19, climate change, shared challenges in cyberspace, critical technologies, counterterrorism, quality infrastructure investment, and humanitarian- assistance and disaster relief and maritime security.
• Greater institutionalization: Formed Quad Vaccine Partnership, the Quad Vaccine Experts Group, the Quad Climate Working Group and the Quad Critical and Emerging Technology Working Group.
• Leveraging each other’s strengths:
  • Promised to supply 1 billion doses of a covid vaccine to the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and wider Indo-Pacific countries by the end of 2022.
  • It will be part of an international exercise that will use Indian manufacturing, American and Japanese funding and Australian logistics.
  • Readiness to work with other regional stakeholders: Including ASEAN members as well as European countries, to work towards regional peace, security and prosperity.

Conclusion: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was right about how last week’s summit underlined that “Quad has come of age” and “will now remain an important pillar of stability in the region.”