1st Quad summit Cements Ties And Future Plans
The leaders of the US, Japan, India and Australia finished their face-to-face meeting in Washington on Friday to cement ties of the QUAD grouping. The meeting focused on topics including vaccines, climate, cooperation on technology and space without mentioning anything regarding “China”.
India, Australia, Japan and the US on Friday pledged to work together for ensuring peace and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific and the world, as top leaders of the Quad grouping announced a slew of new initiatives to take on common challenges, amidst an unstructured nasty activities by China in the South Philippines/Natuna Sea region.
Biden emphasized that the four countries had come together to take on key challenges of our age, from COVID to climate to emerging technologies and he added in his opening remarks at the meeting that “we know how to get things done, and we are up to the challenge.”
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said “we believe in a free and open Indo-Pacific, because we know that’s what delivers a strong, stable and prosperous region.”
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said that the Quad is “an extremely significant initiative by four countries who share fundamental values, cooperating for the cause of realizing a free and open international order based on the rule of law in the Indo-Pacific.”
Quad will bring peace and prosperity to the Indo-Pacific region and the world with its positive approach, it would play the role as Force for Global good, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the start of the summit of its four leaders in Washington. “On the basis of democratic values, Quad with positive ideas and a positive approach is determined to move forward,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi added in his short address and exuded confidence that this cooperation by the four democracies will ensure peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and the world.
Modi was the first leader invited by the host President Joe Biden to address the first in-person Quad gathering in the East Room of the White House. Biden, who earlier in the day had a more than an-hour long meeting with Modi, described the prime minister as My Friend.
Modi spoke in Chaste Hindi and saying “Whether it is supply chain, security, climate action, Covid response, or technology cooperation, I am happy to discuss them with our friends.Our Quad is united as a force for good to work for the world. I am confident that our Quad assistance in the Indo-Pacific and in the world will bring peace and prosperity,” he added.
The leaders of the four countries did not mention China or any disputes with It, the entire agenda and all topics in the summit focused on Cooperation for common gods of the region. It is an initiative that aims to reduce disputes and confrontation under the banner of cooperation especially in the Indo Pacific.
By stressing cooperation on vaccines and dealing with pandemic, the US and the other three countries have shown the way to the rest of the World.
According to US media, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also attended the meeting with leaders from the four countries.
The move to not mention China at all also displayed the confidence and maturity among the Quad countries as they may share similar views on China and its actions in the Region. The summit is to coordinate the four to speak in one voice or act at a similar pace for prosperity and peace in Indo Pacific.
No doubt the Quad summit is the Biden administration’s latest move to form an alliance to contain China. The Quad summit took place just days after the US, the UK and Australia announced a security pact, AUKUS, under which Australia will be provided with nuclear-powered submarines. Though it has affected the Australian submarine deal with France, which prompted France to recall its ambassadors to the US and Australia, and greatly upset the European Union.
Tanvi Madan, head of the India Project at the Brookings Institution, was cited by the Washington Post as saying that the formation of AUKUS and the Quad summit this week showed the outlines of two blocs were emerging in parallel. While AUKUS has the appearance of a more hard-edge military pact, the Quad is emphasizing soft-power projects like vaccine distribution in Southeast Asia, where many governments resist the idea of choosing between Washington and Beijing.
