Asad Mirza
THE latest Quad Summit is largely seen as an effort by the US President Joe Biden to leave a lasting legacy. Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi ticked all the boxes, India did not gain anything substantial at the summit, beyond the optics.
Prime Minister Modi along with President Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attended the Quad Summit at President Biden’s hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, 100 miles north of Washington DC, at the weekend.
India was initially set to host the Quad summit this year but agreed to swap duties as Biden’s time in office will end in the next two months. The leaders met ahead of the UN General Assembly session in New York City this week.
The Delaware Summit is also seen by many analysts as an attempt by President Biden to put a final stamp on an alliance he hopes will endure beyond his presidency. Or which might be referred to in the broader context of a Biden Doctrine. Concerns are also being raised about the fate of the Quad, if Donald Trump returns to power.
Focus on China
At the summit, China and its actions in the South China Sea were first on the agenda. At the start of the discussion, Biden was caught in a hot mic moment and could be heard saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping is looking to “buy himself some diplomatic space, in my view, to aggressively pursue China’s interest.”
“We believe Xi Jinping is looking to focus on domestic economic challenges and minimise the turbulence in China diplomatic relationships,” Biden could be heard saying.
In a joint statement after the summit, the leaders of the Quad countries said that they are “seriously concerned” about China’s escalations in the South China Sea, without naming the country by name.
Biden emphasised that his administration views Beijing’s actions as a tactical shift rather than a fundamental change in strategy. The Quad leaders also unveiled a significant strategy to bolster maritime security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and pledged for lasting peace in Ukraine.
Prime Minister Modi reaffirmed the Quad’s commitment to a rules-based global order, emphasising respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity. In his address, Modi said a free, open, inclusive, and prosperous Indo-Pacific is a shared priority of the Quad.
The leaders also announced a new regional Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific (MAITRI), to enable partners to maximise tools provided through Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) and other Quad initiatives.
In addition, an expansion of the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness, which helps countries monitor illegal fishing and other unlawful activities in their waters, to the Indian Ocean and provide partners with more sophisticated technology and training, was also announced.
They also launched a logistics network to allow the US military to share cargo space on aircraft and vessels to be used in humanitarian assistance or disaster relief operations. The partnership will also roll out new Open Radio Access Network pilot projects in the Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia.
Meanwhile, the most personal announcement by President Biden focused on new joint efforts to fight cancer. The Quad leaders launched a new partnership aimed at reducing cervical cancer in the Indo-Pacific, a global extension of the president’s signature “Cancer Moonshot” initiative. This included efforts to provide more cervical cancer screenings in the region and increase vaccinations for human papillomavirus or HPV, a main cause of cervical cancer.
However, the Chinese newspaper Global Times in an editorial criticised the Quad Summit. It wrote that everyone knows that the Quad Summit is aimed at China, but the participants wanted to cover it up, demonstrating how the encirclement of China enjoys little support in the international arena.
The editorial criticised the joint statement issued by the Quad besides saying that although Western public opinion had previously heightened the rhetoric surrounding the meeting “to deal with aggressive China,” we see that, apart from continuing to hype the “China threat” and “Indo-Pacific crisis” theories behind closed doors, Quad has achieved nothing substantial.
It further opined that the Quad’s situation is also a microcosm of the closed and exclusive small circles that the US has pieced together around China.
Modi-Abbas Meeting
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi pledged India’s “unwavering support” to the people of Palestine as he held talks with the President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday (September 22) evening, during his visit to New York and the United Nations. The meeting comes days after India abstained on a UN resolution calling on Israel to vacate the Occupied Palestinian Territories within the next 12 months.
During Sunday’s meeting, Modi discussed India’s support to Palestine at the United Nations. “Mr Modi emphasised that only a two-state solution would deliver peace, as he called for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine, the release of hostages, and a return to diplomacy and dialogue,” a government readout said.
Modi also held talks with Nepali Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Sunday. They discussed a range of subjects, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, listing hydropower cooperation, people-to-people ties, and increasing connectivity.
Modi’s Outreach
Meanwhile, the prime minister also addressed the Indian diaspora in New York’s Nassau Coliseum and dubbed them ‘Rashtradoot’. He said, “I have always understood the capabilities of the Indian diaspora. I understood it even when I held no official position…For me, you all have been strong brand ambassadors of India. This is why I call you Rashtradoot…”
Speaking about the contributions of Indians living in America, he said, “For the world, AI means artificial intelligence, but for me, AI also means American-Indian spirit. This is the new ‘AI’ power of the world…I salute the Indian diaspora here.”
Prime Minister Modi then went on to say that Indians are also a strong voice of the Global South… “Today, when India says something on a global platform, the world listens. Some time ago when I said that this is not the era of war, its severity was understood by all…,” he said. Modi also announced that India has decided to open two new consulates in Boston and Los Angeles.
IPEF Agreements
Further, India on Sunday signed the 14-member, Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) bloc’s agreements on a clean and fair economy intending to enhance cooperation in these areas. The agreements would help facilitate the development, access, and deployment of clean energy and climate-friendly technologies; catalyse investment and strengthen measures for anti-corruption, tax transparency, etc. and improve the business environment, the commerce ministry said in a statement.
The agreement on a clean economy intends to accelerate efforts of IPEF partners towards energy security, GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions mitigation, developing innovative ways of reducing dependence on fossil fuel energy, promoting technical cooperation, and capacity building, besides collaborating to facilitate development, access, and deployment of clean energy and climate-friendly technologies.
The IPEF focuses on building economic cooperation through its four key pillars — trade, supply chain resilience, clean economy, and fair economy (focusing on tax and anti-corruption).
All in all, the US visit by the prime minister ticked all the boxes for him, articulating India’s support and ambitions for Quad, enhancing regional collaboration, enhancing his rapport with the US presidents and of course, targeting the Indian diaspora in the US, which comes to his aide at election time in India. But in reality, nothing substantial was achieved during the visit from India’s point of view.
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Asad Mirza is a New Delhi-based senior commentator on international and strategic affairs, and environmental issues.
