Quad takes on China, announces its first joint Coast Guard mission at sea

The Quad group of nations dropped their hesitation today in mounting a venture with military potential to counter China’s expanding influence by announcing the first-ever joint Coast Guard mission at sea.

Quad for territorial integrity, says PM

The Quad is not against anyone. We all support a rule-based international order, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a peaceful resolution of all issues. — Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

Need to end conflicts

• Quad leaders stress need for ending Russia-Ukraine conflict, bat for a two-state solution to resolve the Israel-Gaza crisis
• Say smaller countries in the Indo-Pacific to be trained in maritime security

The four nations, represented by their leaders — Joe Biden of the US, India’s Narendra Modi, Australia’s Anthony Albanese and Japan’s Fumio Kishida — announced in Wilmington, Delaware, where the Quad summit was hosted by the US, that it would stand for the maintenance of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

The summit came up with the “Wilmington Declaration”, detailing the way forward.

Smaller countries in the Indo-Pacific will also be trained in maritime security. Another layer of technology will be added and real-time data shared to keep an eye at sea.

“Four years since elevating it to a leader-level format, the Quad is more strategically aligned than ever before and is a force for good that delivers real, positive and enduring impact for the Indo-Pacific,” said the declaration. It stressed the need for ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict and batted for a two-state solution to resolve the Israel-Gaza crisis.

Addressing the summit, PM Narendra Modi said, “The Quad is not against anyone. We all support a rule-based international order, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a peaceful resolution of all issues.”

President Joe Biden hosted the meet, which was also attended by Australian PM Anthony Albanese and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida.On expected lines, the focus was on China. This was in reference to China not agreeing to the 2016 UN-mandated arbitration of maritime boundaries in South China Sea. Beijing launched its own negotiations to have a code of conduct (with Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan) on operating in the hydro-carbon-rich South China Sea.

The Quad leaders expressed “serious concern” over the situation in East China Sea and South China Sea, and mentioned “coercive and intimidating manoeuvres at sea”.

The Quad statement listed the first-ever joint initiative at sea. The US Coast Guard, Japan Coast Guard, Australian Border Force and the Indian Coast Guard plan to launch the first-ever “Quad-at-Sea” ship observer mission in 2025. “This is to advance maritime safety,” a statement said. This comes just weeks after Chinese maritime militia, using fishing vessels and aided by the Chinese Coast Guard, carried out dangerous manoeuvres around Philippines fishing vessels, besides threatening oil exploration activities.

Expanding to empower other countries to tackle Beijing, the Quad announced a new training module called the Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific (MAITRI). This will be backed by additional layers of technology and real-time data to allow countries to monitor seas, secure their waters, enforce laws and deter unlawful behaviour. India will host the first such training workshop in 2025.

In the cyber domain, the Quad countries will address threats to identify vulnerabilities, protect national security networks and critical infrastructure networks. The four countries have a plan to protect commercial undersea telecommunication cables. The Quad also launched a partnership on “humanitarian assistance and disaster relief” which will enable rapid coordination in the face of natural disasters. The UN Security Council reform also came up for discussion. “Expansion of permanent seats should include representation for Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean,” the statement said.

On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Quad leaders said, “We express our deepest concern over the war raging in Ukraine.” They added that they remain committed to a sovereign, viable and independent Palestinian state taking into account Israel’s legitimate security concerns as part of a two-state solution. The statement reiterated condemnation of terrorist attacks, including the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai and the 2016 attacks in Pathankot.

PM Modi holds bilaterals

PM Modi held “very good” meetings with Japanese PM Fumio Kishida and Australian PM Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of Quad summit.

In his meeting with Kishida, the two leaders reviewed the India-Japan relationship. “The two sides discussed economic cooperation and the progress of investment under 5 trillion yen programme that Japan has announced,” Foreign Secretary Misri said.

Under a transformative collaboration with the US, India will get its first-ever national security semiconductor fabrication plant that will produce chips for use in military hardware in both countries.