Beyond 'Indo-Pacific Nato'

Vaccine cooperation marks a new step for the Quad

The first virtual meeting of the four Quad leaders after Joseph Biden took office as American president offers clear signals that the four-nation grouping of the US, Japan, Australia, and India is moving decisively beyond the narrow security partnership to a geo-political grouping that encompasses other areas of cooperation as a means of challenging China’s regional hegemony. This much was clear from a Ministry of External Affairs statement ahead of the summit, referring to maintaining a “free open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region” and to building relations to ensure “resilient supply chains, emerging and critical technologies, maritime security and climate change”.