Quad Leaders’ Summit 2024: Expectations and Recommendations
The Quad Leaders Summit is set for September 21, 2024, in Wilmington, Delaware. The summit will be crucial as both President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are nearing the end of their terms, making it their final Quad meeting before the elections. India, which was originally set to host this year's summit, will hold it in 2025 instead.
Credits: Prime Minister’s Office of Japan
Key outcomes of the summit are likely to include initiatives aimed at strengthening maritime security, especially in response to China's assertiveness in the South China Sea. The Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness will continue to be a focal point, helping countries in the region better monitor their territorial waters and crack down on IUU.
Technological and digital cooperation, especially in areas like cybersecurity and critical supply chains, will also feature prominently. The Quad's ongoing collaboration on semiconductor supply chains and emerging technologies is anticipated to be reinforced, offering a path forward for high-tech industries in member countries.
Additionally, health security, particularly lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, and humanitarian collaboration are expected to see renewed commitments. There is chatter around the potential for cooperation under the U.S.'s Cancer Moonshot Initiative to prevent, detect and treat cancer.
Under President Biden, the Quad became more institutionalized, moving from informal dialogue to regular high-level meetings. Quad leaders held a virtual summit in March 2021 for the first time, followed by in-person summits in Washington D.C. and Tokyo in subsequent years. Biden’s decision to host the summit in Wilmington, his hometown, is indicative of the personal rapport he has developed with each of the leaders throughout his tenure.
As we look ahead to the proceedings and probable outcomes, here are three recommendations proposed by researchers at the Takshashila Institution:
Space: India's bilateral space cooperation with Australia, Japan, and the United States has made substantial progress in recent years, establishing a strong foundation for deepening space collaboration. Japan and the US boast well-established space programs, while Australia is advancing its space initiatives. India, with its growing space capabilities, is well-positioned to explore further collaboration with Quad partners. The possibility of a Quad space station offers a valuable opportunity to shape the future of India’s human spaceflight program and to strengthen cooperation within the group.
We present a framework to assess the potential for large-scale space collaboration between countries and private entities. Additionally, we highlight the prominent role the commercial space sector will play in developing Low Earth Orbit (LEO) space stations with prospects for state-to-state partnerships. Finally, we outline comprehensive options for India to engage in space station development, contributing to the collective efforts of the Quad.
Biotechnology: We propose that the Quad establish a biomanufacturing hub in India. This initiative would capitalize on the economic potential of the biomanufacturing industry while addressing supply chain vulnerabilities. The Quad’s Critical and Emerging Technology Working Group is already positioned to monitor trends in this field and identify opportunities for cooperation, making this the ideal next step for collaboration.
Each Quad member brings unique capabilities that can drive innovation and strengthen supply chain resilience. The United States offers significant funding capacity, while Australia, Japan, and the US have advanced biotechnology ecosystems and strong intellectual property frameworks. India provides a large pool of skilled manpower and is the ideal location for biomanufacturing, given its availability of land and resources. These strengths can be combined into a cohesive Quad biotech program fortifying the Indo-Pacific's position in critical technology sectors.
Semiconductors: We recommend that the Quad countries prioritise semiconductor and microelectronics collaboration as a strategic focus area. This ‘meta critical’ technology, identified as one of the 20 Critical and Emerging Technologies (C&ETs) by the US, offers the potential for significant progress, which can serve as a foundation for tackling broader issues related to global technology standards and principles. Each Quad member brings distinct strengths to the semiconductor value chain. The United States leads in semiconductor design, Japan excels in manufacturing materials and chemicals for chip production, Australia contributes vital resources through its critical materials and advanced mining capabilities, and India offers a strong talent pool of skilled engineers essential for semiconductor design.
By coalescing these comparative advantages, the Quad can achieve semiconductor supply chain security more effectively than if each nation pursued independent efforts. Pooling resources and expertise will lead to the creation of a robust ecosystem that encompasses all upstream and downstream stages of production. That said, the Quad must continue to prioritise cybersecurity challenges and focus on protecting semiconductor supply chains from cyber threats, ensuring the integrity and security of sensitive technologies.
At the 2023 Quad Leaders' Summit, the leaders announced the Space Working Group's collaboration to explore ways of providing Earth Observation data and other space-related applications to assist nations across the Indo-Pacific. They also announced a partnership with Palau to deploy the region's first Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) and introduced the Quad Joint Principles for Secure Software and Cybersecurity of Critical Infrastructure. The Quad Vaccine Partnership was expanded into a Quad Health Security Partnership to support health workforce development, disease surveillance and electronic health information systems.
The Quad Summit 2024 is expected to build on the momentum generated by the Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Tokyo this July, with emphasis on Indo-Pacific security, economic resilience, technology governance, and health security. However, as the Quad continues to mature, it must first focus on deepening rather than expanding while building a successful track record of initiatives that are not only implementable but well-executed in the long run.
What we’re reading/listening to:
[Video] Watch this Global Express video where Manoj Kewalramani and Seema Sirohi discuss Trump vs Kamala and its India Impact
[Podcast] Listen to Aditya Ramanathan break down how India is building its space-sector ecosystem
[Opinion] Read Vanshika Saraf’s latest piece on how great-power competition in the Pacific is beneficial for the region
[Book] Read Robert Whiting’s book Gamblers, Fraudsters, Dreamers and Spies, a treasure trove of hidden stories about Post-War Japan