With the upcoming ASEAN summit in Vientiane next month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to lay out a strategic roadmap for the QUAD alliance, focusing on securing supply chains, critical infrastructure, maritime awareness, and enhancing cybersecurity.
As the QUAD leaders—Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, US President Joe Biden, Japan’s PM Fumio Kishida, and Prime Minister Modi—prepare for their summit in Wilmington, Delaware on September 21, their discussions will prioritize the Indo-Pacific region. The aim is to concentrate on countering PLA Navy’s increasing assertiveness rather than getting sidetracked by ongoing global conflicts like the Gaza and Ukraine wars. This summit also marks a farewell to outgoing leaders Biden and Kishida.
During the event, PM Modi will engage in bilateral talks with President Biden, PM Kishida, and PM Albanese. However, his tight schedule leaves little room for meetings with other global allies, such as French President Emmanuel Macron or Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. No decision has been made regarding a potential meeting with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The QUAD discussions will center on bolstering infrastructure protection against cyber threats, a growing concern due to recent Chinese aggression against the Philippines and Houthi missile attacks on international shipping. The QUAD nations have already committed to using HawkEye 360, a US-made software designed for maritime domain awareness, especially for tracking ships that disable their transponders.
Although Australia and Japan maintain formal alliances with the US, India’s position in the Indo-Pacific is pivotal, especially with its two-carrier task force Navy overseeing the enforcement of international law. The Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness initiative, launched by QUAD in May 2022, aims to regulate the high traffic in the region, which is notorious for piracy, drug smuggling, arms trafficking, and illegal fishing.
India has historically acted as a first responder in the region, offering disaster relief since the 2006 tsunami and providing COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic without expecting any political favor in return.
While China sees the QUAD as a countermeasure to its growing influence, the alliance is positioned to promote global stability, with all four powers maintaining strong communication to ensure this objective.
