U.S. President Joe Biden, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrive for a Cancer Moonshot announcement at the Quad leaders summit in Claymont, Delaware, U.S. on September 21, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The leaders of the Quad group of countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met at their sixth summit level meeting at Archmere Academy, Mr Biden’s former school in Claymont, Delaware, to announce a broad range of outcomes. These included the launch of a new coast guard exercise, a logistics network, expansion of maritime surveillance, and a project to combat cervical cancer.

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In terms of positions, the Quad strongly condemned aggression in the East and South China Sea and expressed alarm over the war in Ukraine, noting that all four leaders had visited the country.

The ‘Quad Cancer Moonshot’ will involve contributions from all four countries to combat cervical cancer. India will commit $ 10 million towards screening for the disease. Vaccine manufacturer, Serum Institute of India and Gavi will provide up to 40 million vaccines for the region, “subject to approvals”.  

The countries announced the Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission in 2025, to improve interoperability and maritime safety. Future coast guard missions are planned for after 2025. A logistics network pilot project was also launched, which will involve Quad countries sharing airlift capacity to support disaster response across the region.

A Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific (MAITRI), to train Quad partners “to monitor and secure their waters, enforce their laws, and deter unlawful behaviour” was also announced. India will host the first MAITRI workshop in 2025.

Significantly, a maritime legal dialogue has been launched to support actions to uphold the rules-based order, the joint statement said.

Quad members condemned maritime aggression, with pointed references to situations involving China, which is currently embroiled in tensions with the Philippines, most recently over the latter’s coast guard presence on the Sabina shoal, 150 kms off its west coast.

“We are seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas,” the countries said, as they expressed concern about the militarisation of disputed features and coercion and intimidation in the South China Sea.

The statement condemns the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels, and opposes the disruption of other countries’ offshore resource exploitation activities.

While there was no direct mention of Russia, presumably out of consideration for India, which shares a close relationship with Moscow, the joint statement had references that have been associated with  a condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, such as Quad countries offering their “unwavering” support for the United Nations Charter. The countries expressed their “deepest concern” for the war in Ukraine and its consequences.

“Each of us has visited Ukraine since the war began, and seen this first-hand; we reiterate the need for a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in line with international law, consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the statement says. It also notes the impact the war has had on food and energy security, especially for developing countries.

The Quad fellowship, to promote STEM education, has been expanded to include 50 scholarships worth $ 500,000 for students from the region to study at government-funded technical institutions in India.