• In News: The QUAD Summit 2025 was scheduled to be hosted by India, but the summit could not be held in 2025 and was postponed. However, on 26 May 2026, the QUAD Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was held in New Delhi, in which the Foreign Ministers of India, the United States, Japan, and Australia participated.

• Member Countries: Australia, India, Japan, USA

• Major Summits:

• Annual QUAD Leaders’ Summit and Foreign Ministers’ Meeting

• Nature:

• It is an informal strategic partnership-based grouping.
• It is also a grouping that seeks to ensure the democratic use of maritime resources and connectivity routes.

• Historical Background

o Formation:

• Following the Indian Ocean tsunami, Australia, India, Japan, and the United States coordinated with one another in disaster relief operations.
• It was an informal strategic dialogue forum among Australia, India, Japan, and the United States.
• China opposed the grouping.

o First Official Meeting:

• The first official meeting was held in 2007.
• Keeping in view the shared interests in the Indo-Pacific region, QUAD held its first official meeting.
• The concept of QUAD was formally proposed for the first time in 2007 by former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

o Temporary Disintegration: 2008–2012

• Australia withdrew from the grouping due to concerns that it could provoke China.
• This resulted in the disintegration of the group.

o Re-activation: 2017–2024

• The grouping was revived with a broader focus on security, technology, and regional policies.
• The first in-person QUAD Leaders’ Summit was held in 2021 in Washington, United States. It was also the first virtual summit.

• Objectives:

o QUAD supports an open, free, inclusive, prosperous, and strong Indo-Pacific region.

• Under this framework, four democratic countries of the world, which have a positive and enduring impact on the Indo-Pacific region, work as a force for global well-being.

o QUAD aims to promote:

• Freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Adherence to international rules and laws.
• Peace and security in the region.

• Functions:

o The practical activities of QUAD are advanced through “Six Leaders-Level Working Groups” in the following six areas:

• Climate, Critical and Emerging Technologies, Cyber, Health Security Partnership, Infrastructure, Space

• Significance of QUAD:

• Strategic Counterbalance: QUAD helps India to counterbalance or reduce China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

o Maritime Security:

• It promotes freedom of navigation.
• It helps uphold international laws such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

o Economic Cooperation:

• It strengthens infrastructure, trade-related standards, and supply chains.
• The four countries have agreed to cooperate on issues such as: Reduction of emissions based on the Paris Agreement, Technology supply chains, 5G networks, Biotechnology.

o Health and Humanitarian Assistance: QUAD has made significant contributions to the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and disaster relief efforts.

• QUAD Cancer Moonshot Initiative: The objective of this initiative is to combat cervical cancer in the Indo-Pacific region by: Promoting HPV vaccination, expanding access to screening, Improving access to treatment options.

o Education and Research:

• QUAD Scholarship: India announced a new initiative offering 50 scholarships worth $500,000 to students from the Indo-Pacific region to pursue education in various fields.
• QUAD BioExplore Initiative: This QUAD initiative focuses on joint research on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for agricultural advancement in member countries.

• Contribution:

• The organization represents approximately 24% of the world’s population.
• It contributes approximately 35% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
• It accounts for approximately 18% of global trade.

• Challenges Before QUAD

• Different Strategies toward China
• Perception of an Anti-China Alliance
• Lack of an Institutional Framework
• Lack of Consensus on Security Issues
• Challenges in Expanding Membership
• Concerns of ASEAN
• Economic Dependence on China
• Different Strategic Interests among Member Countries

o India’s Specific Concerns:

• Geopolitical Tensions: Strengthening relations with QUAD could lead to the alienation of important partners such as Iran (an adversary of the United States) and Myanmar (an ally of China).
• Different Indo-Pacific Visions: India focuses more on the Indian Ocean, whereas the other members place greater emphasis on the Pacific Ocean region.

• Way Forward:

• o Define a clear Indo-Pacific strategy.
• o Consider expanding membership.
• o Strengthen India’s maritime strategy.

• Conclusion: It would not be appropriate to portray QUAD merely as a challenge to China. It is emerging as an important pillar dedicated to maintaining stability in the Indo-Pacific region based on democratic values.

Therefore, QUAD should be used as a grouping for “global good” rather than merely as a military alliance, so that it can help resolve mutual differences and promote peace, stability, cooperation, and development.

Other Important Facts:

• Malabar Exercise:

• The Malabar Exercise 2025 was conducted in Guam in the North Pacific Ocean.
• The Malabar Exercise began in 1992 as an annual bilateral naval exercise between India and the United States.
• Japan joined the naval exercise in 2015.
• In 2020, the Australian Navy also participated in the Malabar naval exercise.
• Thus, all four QUAD countries — Japan, India, Australia, and the USA — participated in the Malabar Exercise in 2020.

o Objectives of the Malabar Exercise:

• To ensure a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.
• To promote peace and security for all.
• To demonstrate the strong cooperation, shared values, and collective capabilities of the four participating countries.
• To strengthen war-fighting skills through joint maritime exercises.
• To enhance interoperability among the navies of the four countries for conducting advanced maritime operations.