The leaders of Quad countries-United States, India, Japan and Australia have gathered in Washington for a high stakes summit as global tensions rise. The virtual meeting led by President Joe Biden also joins Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia to deliberate on strategic ASEAN partnerships alongside essential current world issues.
The summit is set at a very right time bearing in mind that the whole world is in crisis at the moment being faced with riots like the Israeli/Hezbollah war, the rising tension in the South China Sea and an on-going war in Ukraine. They are expected to repledge their support for a free and open Indo-Pacific and considering how to tackle China ’s rise in the region.
Of special concern is the most recent act of aggression: between Israel and Hezbollah. The condition has worsened drastically after a duo of blasts in southern Lebanon and Beirut’s outskirts through explosive-laden pagers allegedly from Hezbollah. It led to many fatalities and several people being injured; in response, Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli artillery.
The Quad leaders are expected to talk about this problem and come up with diplomatic lessons that can put an end to the escalation of conflicts in the Middle East. This is especially important in the opinion of the group because of India’s historical relationship with both Israel and Arab countries and the United States as an ally of the latter country.
The other issue of concern to the Quad nation is the present state of affairs in the South China Sea. New astronautical shots have shown that China has stepped up military preparations in the area and built new structures on the islands in dispute. This has caused much concern among the regional countries and the global community due to the maximum use of force as well as the desire to assert its sovereignty over the area.
The Quadrilateral’s next meeting is expected to restate the intention of Quad to defend the principles of the free navigation in the South China Sea and guarantee the sovereignty of countries in this region. They may also deliberate on matters such as conducting of naval operations and deep cooperation in maritime in order to check Chinese aggression.
The meeting is also expected to cover areas of economy and technology. The world economy is still in the process of responding to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and is experiencing new problems due to the confrontation between the West and Russia, so Quad countries are searching for ways to expand economic cooperation. These meetings may cover such topics as Ensuring access to critical and strategic materials and resources, pushing the development of clean energy technologies, and strengthening collaboration in key and emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing.
Another important subject is climate change. Since climate change continues to cause weather calamities around the globe, leaders of the Quad countries are likely to address their plans on emission cuts and support to developing nations on climate change adaptability. These could involve talks on green technology transfer, climate finance and partnership in conducting research among them.
The summit has attracted lot of attention internationally with many people regarding it as an attempt to counterbalance China in the Indo-Pacific region. The Quad has been earlier described by Beijing as an effort to create an “Asian NATO”, which has been strongly denied by the member countries.
Even as the leaders meet, there are politico back home to consider. First, for President Biden himself, it is a chance to prove his administration’s readiness to cooperate on the international level and to show leadership in the world, especially considering that he is likely to have a quite tough presidential campaign in the United States today. Prime Minister Modi who recently hosted G20 summit in India is seeking to consolidate the position of his country on global map.
The results of this Quad summit can potentially or may reshape the geopolitics of the world. Any bilateral decisions or actions of the leaders expressed in joint statements, agreed initiatives after their meeting will attract much attention of experts and the public relating to their influence on the development of relations with China, as well as their efficiency in the management of critical global problems.
The world expects the Quad nations to achieve the balance between their self-interests and the collective mutual interest in areas of climate change, economic reconstruction and regional security. This summit should determine how the relations between states will develop in the near future and may possibly rearrange the geopolitical map of the Indo-Pacific area.
Such a meeting also precedes a time when the United States itself is faced with some domestic issues such as polarisation and economic issues. World powers will be watching as the Biden administration steers what’s left of the world order while simultaneously wrestling with these domestic challenges.
Today, when the Quad summit is taking place, its outcomes are sure to impact not only the relations between the Quad member states but also contribute to the shifts in the international diplomacy and the general concept of global governance in the world of continuously deepening international connections and interdependences.
