The Quad is not a security alliance: U.S. State Department

The U.S. has reiterated that the Quad is not a security alliance. On his way to a minister-level meeting in Melbourne, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had highlighted aspects of the group comprised of India, the U.S., Australia and Japan, saying the Quad was bolstering maritime security and “pushing back against coercion” in the region. “The Quad is becoming a powerful mechanism for delivering, helping to vaccinate a big part of the world and getting a lot of vaccines out there, strengthening maritime security to push back against aggression and coercion in the Indo-Pacific region, working together on emerging technologies and making sure that they can be used in positive ways, not negative ways, and an increasingly broad and deep agenda,” Mr Blinken said as per remarks released by the State Department. “The Quad is not a security or military partnership.The Secretary was referring to one of many activities/platforms the Quad supports as part ofour shared approach tothe Indo-Pacific.Its purpose is to advancecooperationon key priorities in specific sectors that isconsistent withinternationallawandpromotes our sharedvaluesandunderpinspeace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” a State Department spokesperson told The Hindu which had sought a clarification on the secretary’s remarks on Wednesday. China’s challenges to the “rules based order” and democratic values will feature in the Quad’s agenda, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia and Pacific, Daniel Kritenbrink told reporters last week.