First QUAD Summit

In a signal development, the first QUAD (Quadrilateral Cooperation) summit held virtually between India, US, Japan and Australia.

What is Quad?

• The Quad, or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, comprises the United States, India, Japan and Australia.
• It is an informal group of the four nations that hold semi-regular meetings, joint military drills, and discussions about regional, economic and development assistance.
• The framework was established in 2007, but it took on a new level of importance in 2019 with a discussion among foreign ministers amid China’s increasing influence.

Why Quad assumes significance for four nations?

• United States: For the United States under Joe Biden, Quad assumes greater significance as it looks to strengthen its commitment in Asia and counter China after the tumultuous Trump era.
• Japan, India and Australia: For Japan, India and Australia, China has emerged as a security threat in several positions, making the Quad meeting a key opportunity to strengthen strategic ties. 

Key-highlights of the virtual Summit

• The Spirit of the Quad: A joint statement, titled ‘The Spirit of the Quad’ was presented after the summit
  • The cooperation decided to pool their financial resources, manufacturing capabilities and logistics to ramp up manufacturing and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in the Indo-Pacific region
• Expanding vaccine diplomacy: The leaders finalised a landmark initiative under which huge investments will be made in India to create additional production capacities to roll out a billion coronavirus vaccine doses by 2022 for exports to the Indo-Pacific region.
• Free Indo-Pacific: The Quad leaders vowed to strive for an Indo-Pacific region that is free, open, inclusive, healthy, anchored by democratic values, and unconstrained by coercion, sending an apparent message to China.
• Working groups: Three working groups in areas of vaccine, climate crisis and critical and emerging technology would also be created.

Importance of Indo Pacific Region (IPR)

• It is the geographical connotation of the area which covers the Eastern Coast of Africa through Indian Ocean and Western Coast of United States of America.
• Countries of Indo-Pacific region: Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor Leste, United States, Vietnam.

Significance

• Minerals: IPR houses deep sea minerals on deep sea floor consisting of polymetallic nodules (PMN), crusts, and accumulations of metallic sulfides from deep vents. mining the PMN—which contain quantities of manganese, iron, copper, nickel, titanium, and cobalt
• Hydrocarbons: Deposits of petroleum and natural gas under the seafloor are the most valuable and sought-after fuels.
• Fisheries: The main fisheries in IPR are Bombay duck, catfish, tuna and tuna-like species, ponyfishes, croakers, mullets, sardines, anchovies, mackerel, sharks, prawns, shrimps and lobsters.