Understanding Biden's Quad legacy and ties among key allies

Recent Quadrilateral Security Dialogue Summit commonly known as Quad — a grouping of Australia, India Japan and the US marks a coda of sorts for efforts by Biden, who will leave office in January. He worked hard to revive this moribund alliance as an effective tool for these like-minded states to coordinate their policies vis-a-vis China and to some extent Russia.

The Quad’s driving force was late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who also talked of Asian Nato The first meeting of the group took place among foreign ministry officials from the four countries in 2007. Later that year, the four countries’ navies exercised together in the Bay of Bengal. China condemned the grouping. The following year Quad drifted into a hiatus when Australia, under Prime Minister Kevin Rudd withdrew to boost ties with China.

Meetings between the Quad’s senior diplomats resumed in 2017. Naval exercises restarted in 2020 (respective spokespeople insist that they are not Quad exercises, just drills that happen to include the four Quad countries).

Though decision to revive Quad was taken during the 2017 Manila ASEAN Summits when Trump was still the US president. It was nonetheless, President Biden who, following his strengthening alliances policy, revived it. He has convened six meetings of leaders of the Quad countries, four of them in person.

Quadrilateral Security Dialogue

The joint statement of the first Quad’s first summit held virtually in 2021 announced “a shared vision for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific and a “rules based maritime order in the East and South China Seas”, which they stated are needed to counter Chinese maritime claims.

The Quad’s main decisions at that time related to vaccines, climate change, critical and emerging technologies. However its full nomenclature — Quadrilateral Security Dialogue — highlights its security nature.

The bloc’s latest initiative reflects a shift from just setting agendas to implementing concrete measures in security and other areas, analysts say. It also shows its commitment to boost its regional clout.

Quad is wary of China’s increasing presence on the seas. Beijing introduced submarines into anti-piracy operations in 2014, which they question the need for. The Quad is seriously worrying that Chinese vessels now operate from Western Pacific to Horn of Africa.

While the Quad leadership has repeatedly stressed the non-military nature of the alliance, this initiative of joint maritime security operation may just prove to be the opening shot towards embracing military objectives by the group.

China has already cautioned Southeast Asian countries to resist US led external interference in the ASEAN region. Much of the regional leadership has repeatedly called upon the big powers to keep their hands off the region and not force a choice on the regional states. Asian disagreements should better be settled within.

Sajjad Ashraf served as an adjunct professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore from 2009 to 2013. He was a member of the Pakistan Foreign Service from 1973 to 2008 and served as an ambassador to several countries.