The leaders of India, Japan, Australia, and the United States (US)—Narendra Modi, Fumio Kishida, Anthony Albanese, and Joe Biden—met in Tokyo to attend the Quad Leaders Summit. During the meeting, the leaders discussed strengthening security, economic, bilateral, health, and climate ties.
The following is a brief summary of the major outcomes and statements made by leaders during the meeting:
Quad summit.
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) May 24, 2022
Leaders of Japan, India, Australia and the United States meet in Tokyo, looking to put China on notice as it expands its military and economic influence in the regionhttps://t.co/7h7GxG9cj9 pic.twitter.com/pOyaRGJkwE
Security
The leaders announced the establishment of the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA). A statement released by the White House said that the IPMDA will “offer a near-real-time, integrated, and cost-effective maritime domain awareness picture” and “transform the ability of partners in the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean region to fully monitor the waters on their shores and, in turn, to uphold a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Breaking: Quad launches Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA). Will allow tracking of “dark shipping”, clubs India's Information Fusion Center-Indian Ocean Region with other centers in the region
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) May 24, 2022
The statement added that the IPDMA will allow tracking of “dark shipping” in member countries’ waters as well as respond to climate and humanitarian events, and protect fisheries. Moreover, since the system is of commercial origin, a wide range of Quad partners can benefit from the IPDMA.
“As the initiative proceeds, the Quad will identify future technologies of promise, allowing IPMDA to remain a cutting-edge partnership that promotes peace and stability throughout the region,” it stated.
They also agreed to boost partnership in the domain of cybersecurity. In this respect, the leaders agreed to further strengthen the ‘Quad Cybersecurity Partnership’ in order to “build resilience across our Quad countries in response to cybersecurity vulnerabilities and cyber threats.”
“Its work is guided by new joint cyber principles to improve cyber resilience in a rapidly changing threat environment,” the statement noted. The principles aim to prevent cyber incidents and enhance national capabilities against cyber threats.
In this regard, they announced the launch of a Cybersecurity Day campaign “across the Indo-Pacific and beyond” to promote cybersecurity awareness and action.
Next, the leaders discussed outer space cooperation. “Quad partners will strengthen their commitments to the free, full, and open sharing of space-based civil Earth observation data,” the readout said. It added that since the Indo-Pacific may become subject to extreme weather events in the near future “Quad partners will convene technical experts to drive new cooperation and set the stage for additional disaster mitigation and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief workshops.”
The Quad.#AFPGraphics factfile on the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a loose security and economic grouping of US, Japan, India and Australia pic.twitter.com/753kvcsg61
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) May 24, 2022
Health
The statement said that Quad countries are “committed to maintaining its global leadership in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and bolstering global health security.” It added that the four countries have “collectively provided 257 million safe and effective doses to the Indo-Pacific” since the outbreak of the virus.
The document stated that while the US “will provide COVID-19 boosters and paediatric doses to countries of greatest need, including in the Indo-Pacific,” Japan and India will support the establishment of a $100 million healthcare facility that will focus on developing COVID-19 countermeasures.
Climate
Calling the climate crisis an existential threat to humanity, the leaders noted that Pacific countries are especially vulnerable to climate extremities. In this respect, they agreed to cooperate on a wide range of programmes to tackle climate change, including in the fields of clean technology, climate information exchange, transportation, and disaster management.
Economy
The future of the 21st century economy is going to be largely written in the Indo-Pacific. That’s why we launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity to help all of our countries’ economies grow faster and fairer. pic.twitter.com/Bihpfumlt1
— President Biden (@POTUS) May 24, 2022
The major highlight of the summit was the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) by the Quad countries alongside Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Together, these 13 countries comprise 40% of the global GDP.
A separate document released by the White House says that the four pillars of the IPEF will be trade, supply chains, clean energy and infrastructure, and tax and anti-corruption.
A White House fact sheet on the initiative says that the IPEF will facilitate greater data and information sharing in order to leverage the digital economy, plan to “better anticipate and prevent disruptions” to reduce inflationary pressures, facilitate better cooperation in the fields of clean energy and decarbonisation, and better implementation of tax, anti-money laundering, and anti-bribery regulations.
The leaders also agreed to establish a Quad Infrastructure Coordination Group to deepen cooperation in the fields of digital connectivity, transportation infrastructure, clean energy and climate resilience.
Remarks by Indian PM Narendra Modi
My remarks at the Quad Leaders Meeting in Tokyo. https://t.co/WzN5lC8J4v
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 24, 2022
PM Modi said that the “scope of Quad has become broader and the format has become effective” and is “giving a boost to a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, which is the common objective of all of us.”
“In spite of the adverse circumstances of COVID-19, we have increased coordination in many areas such as vaccine-delivery, climate action, supply chain resilience, disaster response and economic cooperation. This is ensuring peace, prosperity and stability in Indo-Pacific,” Modi said.
Remarks by US President Joe Biden
US President Joe Biden is addressing the QUAD Leaders' Summit in Tokyo. PM Narendra Modi is one of the four leaders who are attending the Summit.https://t.co/QCblRpC0ct
— DD News Odia (ଓଡିଆ) (@DDOdiaNews) May 24, 2022
Hailing the progress Quad countries have made in recent years, Biden said that the Quad should strive to cooperate more in light of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Biden said that the Quad has a lot of work ahead, including keeping the Indo-Pacific region peaceful and stable, tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, and combating the climate crisis.
Biden also stressed Washington’s commitment to other members of the Quad.
Remarks by Japanese PM Fumio Kishida
#WATCH Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Australian PM Anthony Albanese and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida assemble for Quad Leaders' Summit in Tokyo pic.twitter.com/rwZJOeWTJA
— ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2022
Kishida called the war in Ukraine a “grave incident which has fundamentally shaken the rule-of-law-based international order.” In this respect, he stressed that Quad countries “should never, ever allow a similar incident to happen in the Indo-Pacific” and in order to prevent such an incident from happening, should show solidarity and commitment towards the shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Kishida also stressed that the Quad should expand cooperation with other Indo-Pacific regions like South and Southeast Asia. “I must say that without walking in step with the countries in the region, we cannot secure success for the Quad either,” Kishida emphasised.
Remarks by Australian PM Anthony Albanese
Saying that the Australian government’s priorities align with the Quad agenda, newly-elected Albanese called on the four countries to tackle emerging threats like climate change, cybersecurity, and health security.
He also said that the Quad should actively work to promote the values of “representative democracy, the rule of law, and the right to live in peace.”