Quad Summit

In News: the fourth Quad summit was held in Japan

• There were divergences among the leaders of Australia, India, Japan and US on the war in Europe(Ukraine crisis) but unanimity in their response to China’s belligerence as they strongly opposed “any coercive, provocative or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo” in the Indo-Pacific.
• While Washington and Tokyo were vocal in their criticism of Moscow in their public statements — India and Australia did not do so in their opening statements at the summit.
• Apart from the Ukraine crisis, the leaders also took note of the post-coup crackdown in Myanmar called for the release of “all political detainees, including foreigners” and called for “swift restoration of democracy”.
• The summit condemned “unequivocally terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations” and condemned the 26/11 Mumbai and 2016 Pathankot attacks.

 The event witnessed the launch of several initiatives

• Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA)
• The leaders of the Quad countries announced the formation of the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) which will build a “faster, wider, and more accurate maritime picture of near-real-time activities in partners’ waters.”
• The IPMDA is said to be a satellite-based maritime security system aiming for a “fundamental requirement for peace, stability, and prosperity” in the Indo-Pacific region.
• The initiative will integrate three critical regions of the Pacific Islands – Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean region – and allow tracking of “dark shipping” and other “tactical activities”.
• “Dark ships” are vessels with their Automatic Identification System (AIS) – a transponder system – switched off so as not to be detectable.
• The new maritime initiative will enable these countries to monitor illegal fishing even when the boats have turned off the transponders which are typically used to track vessels.
• The maritime system will also improve the partners’ ability to respond to climate and humanitarian events and protect their fisheries – a vital need for many Indo-Pacific economies.
• Quad Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Package (Q-CHAMP)
• The members also launched the “Quad Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Package (Q-CHAMP) with “mitigation” and “adaptation” as its two pillars.
• The initiative will help green shipping and foster the idea of a “shared green corridor”
• Quad Partnership on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR)
• As part of the plan to increase the humanitarian footprint in the region, the leaders announced the establishment of the Quad Partnership on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) in the Indo-Pacific region.
• The grouping also decided to enhance sharing of data as part of the “Quad Satellite Data Portal” that will enhance cooperation among the satellites of the member countries.
• The Tokyo summit witnessed the launch of the Quad Fellowship which will intensify people-to-people contact and foster academic exchanges. Under the scheme, 100 students from the member countries will travel to the US each year to pursue graduate studies in STEM fields.

Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Q.1) With reference to a grouping of countries known as BRICS, consider the following statements: (2014)

1. The First Summit of BRICS was held in Rio de Janeiro in 2009.
2. South Africa was the last to join the BRICS grouping.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Source: The Hindu & Hindustan Times