 Capsule for Shankar IAS Academy. Today, we will discuss the recently concluded Quad Summit which took place virtually on the 12th of March. The word Quad is fairly well known now because this has been talked about for quite some time. There's a short for Quadrilateral which means four countries. These four countries are the United States, Australia, Japan, and India. These are the most important countries in the Indo-Pacific and also all democracies. So there is an ideological substance in the Quad because they are democracies, they are major countries in the region, and they are willing to work with each other for the development of the Indo-Pacific. Out of these three, the United States, Australia, and Japan are already military allies in very different alliances with the United States. While India is not an ally of the United States, only a strategic partner. From the origin itself, because of this ideological bond between those three countries, it was seen as or suspected as an alliance against China. Of course, it originated as a kind of grouping to deal with one of the biggest natural calamities in the region in 2004, the tsunami. So tsunami was such a widespread calamity that international cooperation was very necessary. And India, as it were, came to life as it were for international cooperation at that time. India did not take any assistance from other countries, but at the same time, we were willing to go out and help whichever country was in danger and difficulties. So India came out with a plan to help out other countries in the region. And at that time, the Prime Minister of Japan spoke about a quadrilateral, that is, these four countries working together. And this was 2004. Even at that time, there was some concern about the growth and rise of China. So anyone who looked at this group from that time onwards began thinking about it as an anti-China grouping. But in this, the biggest concern was of India, because of all these four countries, the only country which has a long land border with China is India. So in other words, we are a frontline nation. All others are, of course, confronting China in various ways in different parts of the world, particularly in the international region. Australia was the closest to China at that time. And Australia was a little bit reluctant. India was a bit reluctant. But both the United States and Japan were very keen that the quad should develop as a grouping against the increasing influence and importance of China. For that very reason, this whole idea crept on since 2004 without any particular structure or formal meetings. But then the idea arose as to what is a harm. As long as you are discussing issues relating to the development or relief at the time of misfortunes, etc. There is no harm in meeting these four countries. So some meetings took place among the representatives, maybe ambassadors, maybe foreign ministers, etc. Very informal meetings took place. And everybody put forward this idea that climate change is a big issue in the region. The terrorism is a big issue in the region. New technology are very important. And so in all these very important global issues, that is common good issues, not purely bilateral, there could be an exchange. And this went on in this particular way for quite some time. But recently, after the Chinese position became somewhat aggressive against the Indo-Pacific, a decision was taken to raise it to the level of foreign ministers. So that was the most formal arrangement. And the ministerial level meeting was held in 2019. Twice these meetings were held and there was even a meeting of foreign ministers in Tokyo. This coincided with our increasing concern about China, because India had concerns about China for many, many years. But we had thought that there was one way, some way of operating with China rather than confronting. So we were never interested in creating the impression that we are ganging up together against China. So India was the least enthusiastic about turning it into an alliance against China. But the others also went along creating this as a group, as a group, a friendly group with common interests. Even in the ministerial meeting in Japan, which was held after in 2020, after the Chinese intentions became very clear, India never used the word China in the context of the Quad. But everybody knew, the whole world understood that this group, the objective of this group is to contain China. On that, there was no doubt. But nobody declared it, nobody spoke about it. But the Chinese kept saying that this is a dangerous trend that they are seeing there. And they saw it as an Indo-Pacific NATO, as they called it. So China was put forthright in this, that they saw this as a grouping against China. And with the increased cooperation of these three countries in defense matters, for example, and some military exercises also took place in the Indian Ocean, in the name of these four countries, it became quite evident that this would eventually grow up into an alliance against China to contain China's expansionist ideas and so on. So after the what happened in Ladakh in April 2020, India also became quite open in this because we not only decided to negotiate with China in order to get China to withdraw from what we consider Indian territory, we also strengthened our armed forces. We looked around for support from various countries. And naturally, the support came from these three countries in different degrees. In the meantime, Australia became somewhat opposed to China. Australia and China relations suffered on account of the differences of opinion between Australia and China. So Australia almost assumed a kind of frontline position together with the United States and Japan. And after several years, Australia also participated in what are called the Malabar exercises, that is naval exercises which used to be held between India and the US, India and Japan etc. And then became a quadrilateral military exercise in the Indian Ocean. So all the ingredients of an alliance or shall we say a partnership of countries which have the most, the greatest concern about China's expansion came into view. But they're still not formalized. But President Joe Biden took the initiative this time to call a summit of the four countries for the first time in history. As we have to remember, of course, President Trump would have had this meeting quite happily because he was formally and strongly suggesting that India should become a part of an alliance against China. And we were receptive to it because what happened in 2020, still we were reluctant because we did not want to do anything to promote China. But after Trump, when President Biden came, he came up with a new image of the American President, not someone who considers China as an adversary or an enemy as President Trump considered China. Biden started talking about China only as a competitor, not only just a competitor but also a country which is important for the United States. And he said he was willing to cooperate with China and collaborate with China on issues in which the two countries are interested. So Mr. Biden's approach was softer than President Trump's. And therefore, when he called a meeting of the quad, there was a certain amount of, what shall we say, a softness in its approach. So we are approaching, so he called the conference for some specific issues to be discussed. What were those issues? Issues which are called the common good because there are several things in this world which need international cooperation, not just bilateral or regional cooperation. So they picked up some of these issues which would require urgent attention by the international community. And the leadership for resolving these issues would be taken up by the quad. So what are the issues? Immediately, of course, the most urgent issue is the pandemic. It was only natural for these countries to get together and see what can be done. Rather late now, it should have happened long, long ago, but at least now more cooperation was possible. And it was identified that vaccine production and distribution would be a very important step which these four countries can do together. So the qualifications or the capabilities of these four countries in these different areas were identified. First is the technology. Of course, there is technology available for the vaccine in different countries, United States of course, China, Russia and India. India has an indigenous vaccine as well as a vaccine for which we cooperate with the Oxford University. So the technology from the United States, the infinite capacity to manufacture vaccine in large quantities that India has demonstrated and Australia's logistic capability and Japan's money, Japan and Australia both more funding. So we have these four countries providing four different aspects of dealing with the pandemic. And this was an acceptable agenda. It is not the agenda of a military lens. It is the agenda of a group of countries which are cooperating. The second is climate change. Again, another issue on which President Biden has taken an initiative. He has gone back to the Paris accord. He has appointed a special negotiator for climate change and he is going ahead with plans to make America carbon free by 2050. And he's also urging others to do that. And here again, these four countries have specific interests. Then the third is modern technology, critical technology because there are many of them because the internet age is becoming more and more advanced. And we have now the various technical capabilities. You have the blockchain. You have the artificial intelligence. We have drawn technology and many others which are emerging technology for which we don't know the capacity for good and for bad. These technologies are good for in various ways but it's also bad in some other words in the sense that the technology can be used for the benefit of the people and the world and also it can be used for destruction. So this is another area which in these four countries can collaborate. Then cyber security. We already know because it is not yet confirmed that both Japan and India were victims of cyber attacks from China. You know how electricity went off in Mumbai for several hours and it is being attributed to some kind of a virus that the Chinese were able to introduce into the Indian grid which created this problem in Mumbai. And there was also suspicion that there was another instance where cyber attack took place in Japan. And therefore together with the technology aspects, how these technologies develop and how we can make it more effective and more useful for everybody and not for harm. And then the specific danger of cyber security. Then you have anti-terrorism. Again an area in which all these four countries are united and again it is not an anti-China move. And then finally the maritime cooperation because all these four countries have access to the Indian Ocean and their security is very much connected related to the security in the Indian Ocean. So all these became the agenda of this conference. In other words, they found a common goods agenda, not a bilateral agenda, not a group agenda, but an agenda which could benefit the entire world and all of them are unquestionable. Just because you are cooperating in these areas, it does not mean that we are against the Chinese. In fact, if anything Chinese court cooperating on this, why not vaccine production? They are already doing a lot in vaccine production. In fact, they have already started a competition with India in vaccine production and distribution. So it's very much a very much concern of the Chinese. Climate change, they are very much involved. Critical technology as cyber security, anti-terrorism and maritime cooperation. So by no means can these ideas, which have all have defensive implications, these were not to be considered as anti-Chinese activities. And so it was projected as a benign organization which will deal with some of these crucial issues of the world. But at the same time, all the participants were quite conscious of the fact that in all these areas, China raises the most difficulties for these countries and therefore eventually it may have to be developed as a kind of body which would counter China or contain China. And this China is very much aware. But nobody really talked about it at this meeting. All the four heads of government spoke about these issues rather than China issues. But the National Security Advisor of the United States, Jake Sullivan, came closest to the truth when he said that the four leaders had indeed discussed China. Nobody else came out with that. But then he said today's meeting was not fundamentally about that. So this is the truth. It is a fact that they discussed China, but China was not the main topic of the conversation. This is acceptable. And of course China knows what it means. It really means that China was their primary concern. But the focus of all the speeches, if you take the speeches of all the four leaders, the agenda was a free and open Indo-Pacific. This area was earlier called Asia-Pacific. And it was renamed Indo-Pacific by the Americans because it is in the Indian Ocean. And of course gave us also some importance. It is Indo-Pacific and not Asia-Pacific. But that was an American name change. Particularly because the American military command in that area is now called Indo-Pacific. So from that Indo-Pacific came. So a free and open Indo-Pacific is the objective and the agenda consisted of what I said earlier about four or five things. Mr. Narendra Modi acknowledged that the initiative came from President Joe Biden, who had accepted President Trump's formula for this future. That President Biden indicated several times that the only idea that he has accepted from President Trump's agenda was China. And he had very similar views about China as President Trump. So when he called this meeting, it was a reiteration of the Trump's policy, though he had taken it more gently than President Trump. So when I was talking to you about Biden's policies of the future, I said that he has an iron fist which is covered in velvet glove. So his determination is as strong as that of President Trump, but his approach is slightly softer. And so the signal that came even from Mr. Modi was our agenda covering areas like vaccines, climate change, and emerging technologies make the Quad a force for global good. So it's a global good that is being discussed and it is presumed that the global good is not being held by the Chinese activities. So that is the linkage. So what we are working is for the good of the world, good of the what is called global commons, but we do not see eye to eye with China's expansionism, the whole idea of Belt and Road Initiative, and generally trying to boss over everywhere. So Mr. Modi characterized the grouping as an important pillar of stability in the region. So there we have the ring of military cooperation, because when you talk about stability and how Quad becomes an important pillar, it means that B4 are all together. Of course, no reference was made to the military exercises conducted against the backdrop of China or its flexing muscles from the Himalayas to the South China Sea. So as the saying goes, the elephant in the room was China. Nobody sees the elephant, but everybody was conscious of that. And that is when you say an invisible elephant was there, the biggest character or the biggest participator in the meeting was China itself or the notions about China. So the softer line which Biden has taken has enabled India to participate in it, because if it was Trump's formula, then it may have been difficult for us to openly go and join, but since this was a more competitive approach, so the centrality of the Indo-Pacific in US national security is all that the Americans talked about. So it is India's reluctance to take the plunge into an alliance also must have played a role in US adopting a cautious approach. So American cautious approach helped us to join and India's cautious approach enabled the United States to take this initiative. And even the neighbors, there could be others who might join later at the Quad, France or UK may be willing to join, we don't know, the ASEAN countries, particularly Indonesia may be willing to join. And this was also born in the future expansion of the Quad. So if you take on the image of a military alliance, which already Australia, Japan and United States are together, and with India, it has been relaxed, it is not an electric alliance. And in drawing up an agenda, the participants, all the four participants kept out any reference to the military arrangements between the countries. India's defense cooperation with United States, having signed all those basic agreements for major defense cooperation. India is today one of the countries which is entitled to technology, which is given only to NATO, we are a non-NATO alliance, so all these were not talked about. So one of the things that was discussed in great detail was the vaccine initiative. As you will know, India has taken the lead in vaccine diplomacy. Of course, the Chinese had started it even earlier, they did not call vaccine diplomacy, but as a part of their global engagement, they were supplying vaccines to various countries. But their situation was a bit dubious, because they are supposed to have created the problem, and therefore they did not appear to be a very benign power in this case. And so there was already a combination of China, but it is a humanitarian need of everything. So the manufacturing capabilities of India, US technology and financial Japanese-Australian funding, and it would be an effective measure in itself, and also the counter to increasing Chinese influence in this area also. So both these are included in it. And so it was confirmed that India will be manufacturing up to about a billion single dose Johnson and Johnson vaccines, which will be delivered to the Indo-Pacific and beyond by next year. So this is a major move. We already have two kinds of vaccines, but the Johnson and Johnson vaccine and American vaccine, which is still in the process of finalization, is only a single dose, which is also more convenient. And this was agreed upon. China may see it as an adversarial act, but can counter it only by doing better with vaccines. So if China wants to counter this, they have to do better with vaccines. So it is no harm to the world. So it is going to be a constructive competition with China. The other items on the Argentine line, maritime security, cyber issues are also not questionable, even though the anti-China dimensions are evident in these issues. The Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean through massive ports in various areas, and also arrival of Chinese submarines in the port, which was built by the Chinese on the Sri Lankan coast, is already a matter of concern. So it's a threat and Japan and India have also been, as I said earlier, suspected of cyberattacks. The interesting thing about this meeting is that at the end of the meeting, there was a joint statement. This joint statement was also very cautiously and carefully worded, but it's essentially dealt with the spirit of the Quad, as it was called, which was about the philosophical underpinnings of this group. So several words were used. They said, there's a spirit of the Quad, and we strive for a region that is free, open, inclusive, healthy, anchored by democratic values and unconstrained by coercion. So all the good things in the world. We're talking about free, open, inclusive, healthy, anchored by democratic values and unconstrained by coercion. So the only issue on which China cannot join is it is not democratic. All other things China can equally claim that they can also join. So broadening the scope of the common action, whatever common action they are taking. The reason is this, and that is the philosophy for the first time, is spelled out at this summit. It recalls that the positive action of the Quad that came out of Tsunami in 2004, and affirms that the global devastation of COVID-19, the threat of climate change and security challenges facing these regions summons the group with a renewed purpose. On this historic occasion of March 12th, the joint statement says, the first ever leader level summit to the Quad, we pledge, and that sounds like a strong grouping, we pledge to strengthen our cooperation on the defining challenges of our time. And of course, the most defining challenge of our time is China, but without saying that, they have declared and pledged cooperation in various areas. The joint statement is quite categorical when it comes to promoting a free, open rules-based order rooted in international law to advance security and prosperity and counter threats to both the Indo-Pacific and the Arctic. So the element of threat has also been introduced. And so we support the rule of law, it says, freedom of navigation and overflight, peaceful resolution of disputes, democratic values, and territorial integrity. And it concludes saying, full of potential, the Quad looks forward to the future. It seeks to uphold peace and prosperity and strengthen democratic resilience based on universal values. So it's very clear. Biden's priority is democracy, he's already committed to having a conference of democracies in Washington towards the end of this year. So that is his center of his foreign policy. So this also fits into that aspect. And that is quite acceptable to the other three. Another significant takes of the joint declaration is some of the current issues in the region have also been discussed. So it is not just the philosophy, but some specific issues on which there is agreement. First is de-nuclearization of North Korea in accordance to UN Security Council resolutions. All the four can agree. So they mentioned that. Then a resolution on the issue of Japanese inductees, that is another issue on which all those who can agree. And the urgent need to restore democracy in Myanmar and the priority of strengthening democratic resilience. So that means they simply not talked only about these global issues. They also talked about regional issues. And Myanmar is a concern. Of course, all the four do not agree the exact wording because India is a little more supportive of the military than the others. And still we had no problem with the restoration of democracy and ruling law and order in Myanmar. So that has been included. So clearly the engagement of Quad will go beyond the common good and take common positions in political issues. So that way, the Quad has also come of age. So they have the confidence to talk about regional issues in which they can cooperate. In terms of practical action, what have they decided? The Quad has established a vaccine expert working group on safe and effective vaccine distribution. Specifically, a working group of all these four countries will meet regularly and exchange ideas and come up with thoughts. Then a critical and emerging technology working to deal with all these good as well as dangerous technology, how to develop it, how to manage it. That's the second working group. And a climate working group to strengthen climate actions, all climate actions like mitigation, adaptation, resilience, technology, capacity building and finance, all the climate issues and agreement was also reached significantly that an offline meeting, that is an in-person meeting of the four heads of government will be held by the end of 2021. So the Quad which had dragged on for years in search of an agenda which should not appear to be anti-China and that search is now over. The earlier only informal meetings, margins of the conference, low level, foreign minister maximum, not willing to talk about the military exercises in the Indian Ocean. So we are generally very shy. But the dramatic appearance the Quad has made for the first time in a virtual summit in 2021 against the backdrop of a tense standoff with China in Eastern Ladakh has assumed a symbolic significance for India, for everybody, but for us particularly. So in other words, it will not be wrong to say that India has moved a few steps closer to an alliance grouping out of our multi-alliances as one of them which would enable India to deal with China also at a critical time. We have been able to disengage in the Pangong Lake area, but the month has passed since then. Discussion, only one discussion has taken place. We don't know whether they will withdraw from other areas like Lebsang. How long it will take, we don't know. Then disengagement is not enough, de-escalation is necessary. Everybody has to move back to their original positions. It's a long-term thing. So joining the Quad with this kind of an agenda of a democratic success and dealing with the issues, what has really happened is that we have started a security conversation for the region involving China with these three countries. So put in plain English, this means that India's concern about China is shared by these three countries also and therefore there is hope not only for discussion, but also common action. So if that is not a military arrangement, what else is? So we are almost in the same position like in 1970-71 when we had a friendship treaty with the Soviet Union. We are a non-aligned country. We still remain to be an independent country, but for a specific purpose, for a specific threat, we are seeking the cooperation of another power. In this case, three powers. So it is a strategic move from our side. It's a symbolic move and it is also a move that should give confidence to the people of India that we are not alone against China. Thank you.