Quad Grouping

Quad Grouping
Source: Hindu
GS II: International Relation

What is discussed under Quad Grouping?

Foreign ministers of the Quad countries – India, Australia, Japan, and the United States – met in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly.
The countries signed the Quad Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Partnership for the Indo-Pacific, which was discussed and agreed upon at the Quad’s Tokyo summit.

The guidelines will allow the four countries to collaborate and coordinate more on issues such as climate catastrophe response.
Other projects are in the works, such as the STEM fellowship and the economic framework as well as marine domain knowledge.
The member nations will coordinate their disaster response efforts in the Indo-Pacific area with other national and international agencies, as well as commercial non-governmental groups, under the HADR.

Countering China
Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay
- The marine space is far more vital to China than opportunistic land grabs in the Himalayas.
- In the case of Chinese border aggression, India, in collaboration with the Quad nations, has the capacity to impair Chinese commerce.
Emerging as a net security provider
- The introduction of the concept of ‘Indo-Pacific’ has heightened great power interest in the maritime sector.
- With India in the epicentre of the Indo-Pacific geopolitical imagination, the vision of a “broader Asia” that may extend its influence beyond geographical bounds can be realised.

Despite the possibility of collaboration, the Quad remains a mechanism without a stated strategic objective.
The Quad’s whole concentration on the Indo-Pacific transforms it into a marine rather than a land-based association, raising issues about whether collaboration extends beyond the Asia-Pacific and Eurasian areas.
The fact that India is the sole member who opposes a treaty alliance arrangement has hindered progress toward a greater Quadrilateral engagement.

What is QUAD?

In the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Australia, Japan, India, and the United States organised a Regional Core Group.
In 2006, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated an “Arc of Freedom and Prosperity.”
The inaugural Quad meeting took place in May 2007 as officials convened for the ASEAN Regional Forum conference.
It seeks to secure and maintain an Indo-Pacific area that is “free, open, and prosperous.”

Significance of QUAD grouping

All four countries have a strong interest in keeping the Indo-Pacific power balance steady and avoiding a regional state from becoming dominant.
All four governments are interested in discouraging the use of force or coercion to settle political and territorial conflicts in the area.
All four governments are committed to the present Indo-Pacific rules-based economic system.
- This is founded on free trade, open investment environments, open competitive tenders, the rule of law, and strong governance standards, all of which continue to benefit everyone.
All four countries are in favour of strengthening liberal democratic governance in the Indo-Pacific.
- The region has not been immune to the global slide in political and civil liberties adherence.

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