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Amid continued Chinese aggression, the Quad’s significance has increased further. As Dr Ashok Sharma writes, the summit-level meeting ascertains that the Quad is not only here to stay but will be a powerful stabilising force in the Indo-Pacific.
Last week’s Quad leaders’ summit saw the United States put soft power back at the centre of regional diplomacy. Former ambassador John McCarthy argues Australia needs to take note.
The first leaders’ level meeting of the Quad countries on Friday establishes the group as an emerging force in the Indo-Pacific. But as Prof. Purnendra Jain argues the US, India, Japan and Australia need to be more than just a bulwark against China’s global ambitions, but exemplars at home of the values they stand for – democracy, freedom and openness.
The Quad, a loose strategic coalition of the Indo-Pacific region’s four leading democracies, is rapidly solidifying this year in response to China’s aggressive foreign policy. Following a recent meeting of their top foreign-policy officials in Tokyo, Australia, India, Japan, and the United States are now actively working toward establishing a new multilateral security structure for the region, writes Brahma Chellaney, Professor of Strategic Studies at the New Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research.
This year the United Nations marked the 50th anniversary of the entry into force of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). But, as Professor Emeritus Ramesh Thakur, a renowned expert on nuclear control regimes, notes there is little to celebrate and even less to be optimistic about as the risks of nuclear war persist, especially in the Indo-Pacific. Some bold new thinking is required.