The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) is an inter-governmental security forum and diplomatic arrangement involving four member countries: Australia, India, Japan, and the United States. It is an informal strategic dialogue with the shared objective of ensuring a "free, open and prosperous" Indo-Pacific region.
The Quad's origins trace back to the informal Tsunami Core Group formed by the four nations to coordinate humanitarian assistance and disaster relief after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The formal concept was first proposed in 2007 by then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with the support of leaders like Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. This first iteration of the Quad, sometimes called "Quad 1.0," was widely viewed as a response to increased Chinese economic and military power, but it ceased in 2008 after Australia withdrew. The grouping was formally revived in November 2017 at the senior official level, amid growing concerns over China's assertive actions in the Indo-Pacific.
The Quad works through regular meetings at the Leaders' Summit, Foreign Ministers, and senior official levels, with the first formal Leaders' Summit held virtually in March 2021. While not a formal military alliance like NATO, its mechanism involves cooperation across multiple areas, including maritime security, counter-terrorism, health security, climate change, and critical and emerging technologies. A key related concept is the annual Exercise Malabar, a joint naval exercise that initially involved India and the US, with Japan joining as a permanent member in 2015 and Australia rejoining in recent years.
The Quad has recently changed by expanding its focus from a purely security dialogue to a multifaceted partnership with concrete deliverables. Recent initiatives include the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative Framework, a $20 billion initiative to strengthen global supply chains, and the Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration (IPMSC) Initiative to enhance real-time information sharing in the Indian Ocean Region. The grouping also committed to advancing port infrastructure in Fiji under the Quad Ports of the Future Partnership and connecting all Pacific Island Forum countries via undersea cables by 2026.