Will a revived Quad balance the scales of power in the Indo-Pacific?
The HinduPublished : Jun 12, 2022 18:00 IST The first in-person Quadrilateral Security Dialogue summit in more than two years was held in Tokyo on May 24. Although Brendan Nelson, a former Australian Defence Minister from the Labor Party, had assured Beijing during a visit to China that Australia would not “do anything unnecessarily that upsets any other country”, the new Prime Minister wasted no time in swearing allegiance to the Quad, saying “it was an honour” that this was his “first act as Prime Minister”. Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, has described the Quad as “a divisive grouping” that is aimed at disrupting existing regional structures and containing China’s influence in the region. A Press Trust of India report said: “Biden said that Modi’s success has shown that the world’s democracies can deliver, bursting the myth that ‘autocracies’ like China and Russia can handle the rapidly changing world better.” Maritime awareness initiative The Quad summit unveiled an important new programme, known as the Indo Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness Initiative, which could further raise tensions in the region. This is feasible for the Quad’s broader surveillance system.” Economic framework The second proposal mooted separately by Biden and endorsed by Quad leaders in Tokyo was the “Indo Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity”.