Quad warns against status quo change, aims to counter China

NEW DELHI: The Quad on Tuesday unveiled several initiatives to counter China’s influence in the Indo-pacific, including a partnership to monitor regional waters and plans to provide $50 billion in infrastructure assistance, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the group’s constructive agenda will strengthen its image as a force for the good.

Modi joined his Australian and Japanese counterparts, Anthony Albanese and Fumio Kishida, and US President Joe Biden for the second in-person summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, in Tokyo, at which the leaders renewed their “steadfast commitment to a free and open Indo-pacific that is inclusive and resilient”.

“We strongly oppose any coercive, provocative or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo and increase tensions in the area, such as the militarisation of disputed features, the dangerous use of coast guard vessels and maritime militia, and efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation activities,” said a joint statement issued after the meeting, in a direct message to China.

None of the Quad leaders spoke about China’s aggressive actions in their televised opening remarks, though it was clear most of the new initiatives launched at the summit – including the Indopacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA), the move to bridge infrastructure gaps and a collective approach to enhanced cybersecurity – were aimed at positioning the grouping as an effective counterweight to Beijing’s efforts to increase its influence.

“The Quad is moving forward with a constructive agenda for the Indo-pacific region. This will continue to strengthen the image of the Quad as a force for good,” Modi said in his opening remarks, speaking in Hindi.

The Quad has carved an important place for itself on the global stage in a very short time, and the group’s scope has increased and it is more influential, he said. “Our mutual trust (and) our determination are giving democratic forces a new energy and enthusiasm.”

A free, open and inclusive Indo-pacific remains a “shared objective” and Quad partners have increased coordination in areas such as vaccine delivery, climate action, supply chain resilience, disaster response and economic cooperation despite the difficulties posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, he noted. “This is ensuring peace, prosperity, and stability in the Indo-pacific region,” Modi said.

When foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra was asked whether China’s actions figured at the Quad Summit, he said the discussions of the four leaders had a “constructive and forward-leaning cooperative agenda”. The leaders also discussed challenges and opportunities in the Indo-pacific, and cooperation between Quad partners and regional countries to ensure at peace, stability and prosperity in the region, he added.

As the Quad Summit was underway in Tokyo, Chinese and Russian combat jets carried out joint flights near Japan – a move Japanese defence minister Nobuo Kishi described as “provocative”.

During the Quad Summit, the leaders launched the IPMDA that will work with regional partners to respond to humanitarian and natural disasters and combat illegal fishing. IPMDA will work with regional information fusion centres in the Indian Ocean, southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands to support enhanced and shared maritime domain awareness to promote stability and prosperity.

The Indian Navy’s information fusion centre in Gurugram will be a key part of IPMDA, which will allow tracking of “dark shipping” and improve the ability of countries to protect their fish stocks. China’s extensive fishing fleet has faced numerous accusations of illegal and over fishing across the Indo-pacific and IPMDA is aimed at curbing this phenomenon, people familiar with the matter said.

The Quad said the grouping will seek to extend more than $50 billion in infrastructure assistance and investment in the Indopacific over the next five years to bridge infrastructure gaps. It will also work to strengthen capacities of countries in need to cope with debt issues under the G20 Common Framework and by promoting “debt sustainability and transparency”. The Quad leaders also announced the establishment of the Quad partnership on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in the Indo-pacific, which will strengthen efforts to respond to disasters.