Third Quad security dialogue to be held today; Biden govt may weigh in on Indo-Pacific

The third  Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, also known as 'Quad' meeting will be held on Thursday, said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). This meeting will include foreign ministers from India, Australia, Japan and the US. As per the statement issued by the External Affairs Ministry, the foreign ministers from the 4 countries will exchange views on regional and global issues such as practical areas of cooperation to maintain a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. 

It is important to note that the third round of Quadrilateral Security Dialogue is being held less than 5 months after the last meeting, which took place in Tokyo in October. 

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MEA: 3rd Quadrilateral ministerial dialogue to be held today

The statement issued by MEA regarding third Quadrilateral Security Dialogue read, "The Ministers will exchange views on regional and global issues especially practical areas of cooperation towards maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. The leaders will also discuss ongoing efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing global climate change and other issues of mutual interest."

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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his counterparts from the other members of the Quad will also discuss efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, addressing global climate change and other issues of mutual interest, the statement said. The MEA informed that Jaishankar along with his counterparts from the other 3 countries will discuss various strategies to combat Coronavirus pandemic, global climate change and other issues of mutual interest. Apart from this, this Quad meeting is also expected to put an end to China's economic coercion tactics towards other countries. 

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In the last meeting that was held in Tokyo, then-US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had slammed China for using its economic powers to increase its hegemony over its neighbouring countries in South Asia. Pompeo in the meeting had also said, "This is for the soul of the world. This is about whether this will be a world that operates in this sense that we're on a rules-based international order system or one that's dominated by a coercive totalitarian regime like the one in China."

What is Quadrilateral Security Dialogue?

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue is an informal strategic forum between India, Australia, Japan and the United States. This forum is maintained by semi-regular summits, information exchanges and military drills between member countries. This forum was initiated as a dialogue in August 2007 by then Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on "seas of freedom and prosperity", with the support of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, US Vice President Dick Cheney and Australian Prime Minister John Howard. 

It was paralleled by joint military exercises of an unprecedented scale, titled Exercise Malabar. The diplomatic and military arrangement was widely seen as a response to China's increased economic and military power. The Chinese government had responded to this Quad by issuing formal diplomatic protests to its members. 

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(With ANI inputs)