What Kind of Group Is the 4-nation Quad?
2022-05-25
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1Leaders of the United States, Japan, Australia and India gathered in Tokyo on Tuesday for a meeting of the group known as the "Quad."
2The issues of American support for Taiwan and Russia's war in Ukraine have gained attention recently.
3So did China's militarization in the disputed South China Sea and Australia's nuclear submarine program.
4But what is the group and what is the importance of the partnership?
5The name "quad" comes from the official name of the group: The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.
6The Quad began as a loose partnership after the extremely destructive 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
7At that time, the four countries joined together to provide humanitarian and disaster aid to the affected area including Indonesia and several other countries.
8But the group was formalized by former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007.
9The group did little for nearly 10 years.
10This was partly because of Australian concerns that its membership in the group would anger China.
11The group was resurrected in 2017, reflecting changing ideas in Asia about China's growing influence.
12The administrations of both former U.S. President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden believe the Quad is important to placing more attention on the Indo-Pacific area, especially to balance China's actions.
13The Quad leaders held their first official meeting of top leaders in 2021.
14They met again by video link in March.
15China has criticized the group as an attempt at forming an "Asian NATO."
16However, the group is unlike the European military alliance, or North Atlantic Treaty Organization, because there is no mutual-defense agreement in effect.
17Quad members say the group is meant to deepen economic, diplomatic and military ties among the four countries.
18The members do not state that their partnership is meant to be a defense alliance against Chinese aggression.
19In March 2021, members released a declaration describing the "Spirit of the Quad."
20The leaders said they aim to establish the Indo-Pacific as an area "that is free, open, inclusive, healthy anchored by democratic values, and unconstrained by coercion."
21Coercion describes causing a country to do something using force or threats.
22Tuesday's meeting marks the first in-person gathering of the group for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Kishida took office last October.
23The meeting also provides an introduction for Australia's new prime minister, Anthony Albanese.
24He was sworn in on Monday, just two days after Australia's parliamentary election.
25Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also attending.
26Modi is facing increasing international pressure over several issues.
27His government's policies toward minorities have been criticized.
28India increased its purchases of Russian energy supplies after Russia invaded Ukraine.
29Other quad members have placed strong restrictions on Russia's economy.
30And India has banned wheat exports at a time when world wheat supplies have been sharply reduced because of Russia's war.
31Indian officials blame hot spring weather, which led to a poor harvest for cutting exports.
32South Korea has expressed interest in joining the Quad.
33U.S. officials have said they are not currently considering adding to the group's membership.
34The group has held "Quad-plus" meetings that have included South Korea, New Zealand and Vietnam.
35These nations could form the basis for future expansion or partnership in the Indo-Pacific.
36The name Quad comes from the word Quadrilateral in the official name of the organization. Quadrilateral means "four-sided."
37In addition to the shortened form, diplomats like to shorten long organization names with acronyms which use the first letters of words.
38So, the new Australia-United Kingdom (Britain)-U.S. alliance is called AUKUS.
39Another acronym that got attention this week while Biden was in Asia: IPEF, short for the U.S.-proposed trade agreement called the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.
40I'm Mario Ritter Jr.
1Leaders of the United States, Japan, Australia and India gathered in Tokyo on Tuesday for a meeting of the group known as the "Quad." 2The issues of American support for Taiwan and Russia's war in Ukraine have gained attention recently. So did China's militarization in the disputed South China Sea and Australia's nuclear submarine program. 3But what is the group and what is the importance of the partnership? 4What is the quad? 5The name "quad" comes from the official name of the group: The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. 6The Quad began as a loose partnership after the extremely destructive 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. At that time, the four countries joined together to provide humanitarian and disaster aid to the affected area including Indonesia and several other countries. 7But the group was formalized by former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007. The group did little for nearly 10 years. This was partly because of Australian concerns that its membership in the group would anger China. 8The group was resurrected in 2017, reflecting changing ideas in Asia about China's growing influence. The administrations of both former U.S. President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden believe the Quad is important to placing more attention on the Indo-Pacific area, especially to balance China's actions. The Quad leaders held their first official meeting of top leaders in 2021. They met again by video link in March. 9Not really like NATO 10China has criticized the group as an attempt at forming an "Asian NATO." However, the group is unlike the European military alliance, or North Atlantic Treaty Organization, because there is no mutual-defense agreement in effect. 11Quad members say the group is meant to deepen economic, diplomatic and military ties among the four countries. The members do not state that their partnership is meant to be a defense alliance against Chinese aggression. 12In March 2021, members released a declaration describing the "Spirit of the Quad." The leaders said they aim to establish the Indo-Pacific as an area "that is free, open, inclusive, healthy anchored by democratic values, and unconstrained by coercion." 13Coercion describes causing a country to do something using force or threats. 14Who are the leaders? 15Tuesday's meeting marks the first in-person gathering of the group for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Kishida took office last October. The meeting also provides an introduction for Australia's new prime minister, Anthony Albanese. He was sworn in on Monday, just two days after Australia's parliamentary election. 16Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also attending. Modi is facing increasing international pressure over several issues. 17His government's policies toward minorities have been criticized. India increased its purchases of Russian energy supplies after Russia invaded Ukraine. Other quad members have placed strong restrictions on Russia's economy. 18And India has banned wheat exports at a time when world wheat supplies have been sharply reduced because of Russia's war. Indian officials blame hot spring weather, which led to a poor harvest for cutting exports. 19Others involved 20South Korea has expressed interest in joining the Quad. U.S. officials have said they are not currently considering adding to the group's membership. The group has held "Quad-plus" meetings that have included South Korea, New Zealand and Vietnam. These nations could form the basis for future expansion or partnership in the Indo-Pacific. 21An unusual name 22The name Quad comes from the word Quadrilateral in the official name of the organization. Quadrilateral means "four-sided." In addition to the shortened form, diplomats like to shorten long organization names with acronyms which use the first letters of words. 23So, the new Australia-United Kingdom (Britain)-U.S. alliance is called AUKUS. Another acronym that got attention this week while Biden was in Asia: IPEF, short for the U.S.-proposed trade agreement called the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. 24I'm Mario Ritter Jr. 25Aamer Madhani and Zeke Miller reported this story for the Associated Press. Mario Ritter Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English. 26We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 27________________________________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29formalize -v. to make something official 30resurrected -adj. the return to life of something that has fallen into disuse or has been forgotten 31anchored -adj. solidly based and supported 32unconstrained -adj. not held back or restricted in any way