Overview of the Quad
- The Quad comprises India, Australia, Japan, and the United States.
- It seeks to uphold a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
- The grouping promotes a rules-based regional order amid intensifying U.S.–China rivalry.
Geopolitical Context in 2025
- Donald Trump’s return reshaped global geopolitics and U.S. regional priorities.
- The Indo-Pacific emerged as the most contested strategic theatre.
- Despite uncertainties, the Quad remained central to U.S. Indo-Pacific engagement.
Evolution and Revival
- The Quad originated in 2004 after the Indian Ocean tsunami.
- It lost momentum due to members’ differing strategic compulsions.
- The grouping was revived in 2017 to counter China’s growing regional assertiveness.
Quad Engagements since Revival
- Between 2021 and 2024, the Quad held six leader-level summits.
- The sixth summit occurred in Wilmington, U.S., in 2024, hosted by President Biden.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted Quad Foreign Ministers in January and July 2025.
- Interregnum in 2025
- India was scheduled to host a leader-level summit in 2025.
- However, no such summit took place, creating a leadership vacuum.
- Political transitions occurred in the U.S. and Japan during this period.
- Operational Initiatives in 2025
- Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission began in June 2025.
- Ports of the Future Partnership held its first meeting in Mumbai, October 2025.
- The Malabar naval exercise was conducted in Guam, involving all four Quad navies.
Need for Leader-Level Engagement
- The Quad has no permanent institutional structure.
- Leader-level summits provide strategic direction and political cohesion.
- Major initiatives are traditionally launched at summit-level meetings.
Outlook for 2026
- The U.S. Ambassador to India confirmed efforts to hold a summit in early 2026.
- Despite 2025 turbulence, the Quad showed institutional resilience.
- It continues to function as a stabilising force in the Indo-Pacific.
Q- The Quad has emerged as a key stabilising force in the Indo-Pacific. Analyse. (150 words)
