The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (also known as the Quad) is an informal alliance between the United States, India, Japan, and Australia. It was created in 2004 in response to the Indian Ocean tsunami, and US, Indian, Japanese, and Australian vessels worked together to provide humanitarian relief. Beyond these initial relief activities, the four nations decided to further cooperation to promote an “arc of freedom and prosperity” in the Indo-Pacific region. Aside from maritime security, the Quad serves other major purposes: observing and predicting Chinese actions and intentions, responding to those actions, and furthering the economic interests of participating countries by creating new global supply chains away from China. China views the Quad as an attempt to check its power in the Indo-Pacific arena.
Dissolution and Eventual Reunion
The first attempt at the alliance did not last long. Member states were concerned that the Quad would damage their cooperation with China, so the alliance dissolved later in 2004. However, by 2017 the four countries felt that concerns over China’s growing assertiveness outweighed the potential harms of damaging the relationship. China pivoted to a more active economic and military role on the global stage in 2012 when President Xi Jinping assumed power. This can be seen from the territorial dispute in the South China Sea and the Belt and Road Initiative.
Relationship with the Quad
Relations between China and the Quad member states have declined in recent months. Australia led investigations into the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to Chinese sanctions on Australian commodities. The dispute with Japan over the South China Sea has escalated, and China has sent military ships and aircrafts into the disputed waters with increased regularity. Tensions along the India-China border led to a deadly confrontation between troops of the two nations in the summer of 2020.
Recent DevelopmentsIn March 2021, the four nations convened in the Quad’s first summit and released a joint statement, “The Spirit of the Quad.” In this statement, they reaffirmed their commitment to the organization, sharing a vision for a “region that is free, open, inclusive, healthy, anchored by democratic values, and unconstrained by coercion.” In addition, the four nations pledged to work together to address global challenges, including climate change, cyber space, disaster relief, humanitarian assistance, quality infrastructure development, critical technologies, maritime domains, and counterterrorism. They have also pledged to deal with the impacts of COVID-19—in particular, their focus now lies in providing equitable vaccine access to the Indo-Pacific region.
