Don’t make South- Pacific region another hotspot of conflict

On the twentieth year of its existence, the Quad group met at the summit in Wilmington, Delaware. President Joe Biden huddled with the leaders of Japan, India and Australia for a final pre election gathering of the Quad alliance to thwart perceived threats from China without further provoking Beijing. The original intention of setting up the group in 2004 was not to counter China’s growing ambition in the Asia- Pacific region. The four countries came together first in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami to offer humanitarian assistance to affected countries. Since 2021, the nature and purpose changed to take on the dragon head on.

In the last couple of years, the Quad group is flexing its muscle to tame the dragon. Four years since elevating the Quad to a leaderlevel format, the Quad is more strategically aligned than ever before to deliver ‘real’ impact for the region. Besides its broad objectives of cooperation between member nations on issues such as health security, humanitarian assistance, maritime assistance and quality infrastructure, the group is keeping an eagle eye on the dragon’s moves. At the recent meeting, the group announced plan for joint maritime patrols known as “Quad-at- Sea Ship Observer Mission”. This initiative will allow the coast guards of India and Japan, along with the Australian Border Force, to sail aboard a US Coast Guard vessel in the Indo-Pacific region. This “Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission” is set to begin next year. Another signal this group transmitted to China is that it will not be allowed to call all the shots in the region.

So, they decided to strengthen cybersecurity and infrastructure to enhance cooperation and build resilient infrastructure in the region, indirectly countering China’s Belt and Road Initiative. What is bothering China since 2022 is Quad members’ initiative to gain a firm grip in the pacific region by launching an initiative such as Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) to offer nearreal- time and integrated maritime domain awareness information to partners in the Indo-Pacific. It is just not this that China is watching carefully; it is also taking a microscopic view about the next move of Quad on the new regional Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific (MAITRI) which enables the members to maximise tools provided through IPMDA and other Quad partner initiatives, to monitor and secure their waters, enforce their laws, and deter unlawful behaviour.

What also bothers China is India’s enhanced role in hosting the inaugural MAITRI workshop in 2025. At the recent Quad Leaders’ meeting in Wilmington, Delaware, India took on multiple new responsibilities. Obviously, China will not like India gaining prominence. It has many issues with India. It doesn’t even like Indian sports people take to adventure in Arunachal Pradesh. China was livid when an Indian mountaineering team scaled an unnamed and unconquered peak recently at Tawang region and named it after the sixth Dali Lama. Beijing called it ‘An illegal act in China territory.’ Strategic Alignment too may be a thorn in the dragon’s feet. The Quad leaders have emphasised their strategic alignment and commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific. This includes addressing China’s aggressive behaviour in the South China Sea, East China Sea, South Asia and the Taiwan Straits. In response, China has expressed strong opposition to the Quad’s initiatives. While labelling Quad as “Asian NATO”, China has been bolstering its own regional alliances and infrastructure projects, such as the Belt and Road Initiative.

At a time when there are tensions in West Asia and the Ukraine war still raging in which thousands civilians including women and children were mercilessly killed, schools and hospitals were flattened, it is time to avoid making the South-Pacific region another hotspot of conflict.