Quad (International Relations)
Quad (International Relations)
Why In News:
The 11th Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting (FMM) was held in New Delhi on 26 May 2026, with India's EAM hosting the US Secretary of State, and the Foreign Ministers of Japan and Australia.
Source: The Hindu, Page 9, 7 July 2026 - 'Questions surrounding the Quad's future'
What is the Quad?
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) is a strategic grouping of India, USA, Japan and Australia, conceived after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami relief effort and formalised as a dialogue in 2007.
It was revived in 2017 at the senior-officials level, upgraded to ministerial level in 2019, and elevated to the Leaders' Summit level in 2021.
India views the Quad not as a military alliance like NATO, but as a platform for a positive, cooperative agenda spanning maritime security, technology, health and infrastructure.
New Initiatives Announced
Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration (IPMSC): the first-ever Quad initiative to pool maritime surveillance capabilities, with an initial focus on the Indian Ocean Region.
Quad Critical Minerals Initiative Framework and a Quad Initiative on Indo-Pacific Energy Security, aimed at coordinating investment in mining, processing and recycling of critical minerals and strengthening energy-supply resilience.
A Counterterrorism Tabletop Exercise on state-sponsored terrorism and uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) in Australia (June 2026), and continued work on port infrastructure with Fiji, following the 2025 Quad Ports of the Future Partnership conference.
A commitment to connect all Pacific Island Forum countries via undersea cables by 2026, and an AI-ENGAGE initiative funding agricultural research using AI, robotics and remote sensing.
Key Facts for Prelims
The Quad has no treaty obligation for collective defence, unlike NATO's Article 5.
Absence of Quad summits since 2024 and the US shift toward hard-security groupings like AUKUS and ‘Squad’ signal declining strategic priority.
Divergent threat perceptions among members (US–Japan: East Asia, Australia: Pacific, India: IOR) hinder deeper cohesion and long-term effectiveness.
AUKUS:
Genesis: In September 2021 as athree-way strategic defence alliance between Australia, the UK and US.
Aim: To boost defense capabilities, accelerate technological integration, and expand the industrial capacity of all three nations as part of a collective effort to stabilize the Indo-Pacific region.