Washington | The test of the Quad is in getting things done for the purpose for which it was originally set up, experts said referring to the recent Quad foreign ministerial meeting convened by India.
Participating in a panel discussion organised by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), foreign policy expert Tanvi Madan noted that in its meeting in July last year, the Quad foreign ministers had identified four distinct issues – maritime security, economic security, technology security and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
"What you saw in this summit, was some movement, not maybe the kind of big bang items, but, you know, for example, if you look at some of the things that they're doing in maritime security, and add it all up, they have moved the ball forward in the maritime security front in a much more specific way," said Madan, Senior Fellow, Centre for Asia Policy Studies at Brookings Institution.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar hosted the Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting in Delhi on Tuesday which was attended by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimistu Motegi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The panel discussion, titled "The Quad Convenes: Priorities, Partnerships and the Indo-Pacific", was anchored by Rick Rossow, Senior Adviser and Chair on India and Emerging Asia Economics at CSIS on Thursday.
"I think all four countries have realized that they need to diversify and establish separate supply chains to ensure their critical minerals future and to reduce that fundamental vulnerability," Luke Collin, Principal, The Asia Group.
Collin said the fact that critical minerals was such a centerpiece of the ministerial speaks of how important it is and how they are all on the same page about the need to diversify.
Nishank Motwani, senior fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said diversification of critical minerals supply chains required long-term government investment, patient capital, and protection against price manipulation by China.
Motwani cited the example of Japan stepping in to support the critical minerals industry in Australia after the dispute with China over the Senkaku islands in 2010.
Madan said that the Quad grouping would be sustainable as long as all the four countries are ready or willing to work together.
Using a pop-culture analogy, Madan likened the Quad to the Avengers franchise of Marvel Comics over Ninja Turtles.
"This is not the Ninja Turtles. Everybody doesn't look alike and is going to do everything together. This is like the Avengers. Everybody is going to do things, is going to have their own characteristics, be in it for their own reasons as well, do their own things with each other, and then the idea is to coordinate when something comes up that needs to be addressed," Madan said.
She said everything Quad does should fit into two lines of effort – building resilience for the country and for the region, and helping build a stable balance of power.