Quad 2.0 has come out of age

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The Quad group comprising of India, USA, Japan, and Australia remained in abeyance for a decade after its inception in 2007 but it has again got a shot in the arm since 2017 as it emerges as a potent means to counterbalance Chinese dominance.

“Soon after its launch, the Quad obituary was written the very next year. It is very miraculous that it was revived in 2017 due to external circumstances. In fact, in 2019 there was a foreign ministers meeting as well. Now it has not only revived but almost come out of age.

The previous US President Donald Trump infused a new life into the Quad. So far the Biden administration also seems committed to the Quad. Other significant person who played a dominant role in shaping Quad was former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe which has been continued by present PM Yoshihide Suga,” says Vishnu Prakash, Former Indian Ambassador.

“There are various phases of evolution for Quad- In the first phase Quad 1.0 starts in 2007 while the second phase could be called Quad 2.0 beginning in 2017. There is a basic difference between Quad 1.0 and Quad 2.0 as the latter one could be assumed to be the period when it has evolved. In the future, it will become more perfect. Over 10 years have passed but still, there are issues that have to be sorted out,” says Prof. Tokenori Horimoto, GIFU Women’s University, Japan.

France to join USA and Japan for a joint military exercise

“There should be organic growth for the Quad grouping and there should be no hurry to add members to the Quad. Let the prospective member countries decide on their own at their own pace. The countries such as France have shown a great great deal of interest in Quad. In the next two months in May 2021, France would be joining USA and Japan for a joint military exercise in the South China Sea,” notes ambassador Prakash.

“But I don’t think South Korea would join Quad or even Quad plus as it is very sensitive to Chinese interests due to economic reasons. But still, South Korea is an important power and it should be consulted on various occasions,” according to ambassador Prakash.

“The ASEAN is indispensable to the concept of free Indo-Pacific. But the difficulty for Quad is that the various members of ASEAN have different levels of relation with China. Moreover, the ASEAN members only think from the point of view of economic relations with China,” adds Horimoto.

“What connects the Indo-Pacific is the ASEAN region especially at the Malacca Strait. The ASEAN nations may not seek to pick or choose any alliance but they really want a free, democratic, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region,” further adds ambassador Prakash.