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The Quad-Plus
Since 2013, national-security analysts from major quad country think tanks—the Heritage Foundation (USA), Vivekananda International Foundation (India), the Tokyo Foundation (through 2017), the Japan Institute of International Affairs (since 2018) and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute—have held a series of roundtable conferences called the “Quad-Plus Dialogue”. The idea was to convene expert discussions around shared strategic concerns among the four democracies - and a rotating fifth or “plus” country. The intent was to prod the governments to formally re-convene the official Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, which occurred in 2017, and to inform discussions among them.
Over the six years of its existence, the partner think tanks have taken a rotating approach to hosting the conference.
- 2013 - Canberra, Australia (hosted by ASPI)
- 2015 - Jakarta, Indonesia (hosted by The Habibie Center)
- 2016 - Jaipur, India (hosted by VIF)
- 2017 - Washington, D.C. (hosted by The Heritage Foundation)
- 2018 - Tokyo, Japan (hosted by JIAA)
- 2019 - Sydney, Australia (hosted by ASPI)
Papers from the conferences can be found below, but one note of substance. China, given that it is such a major factor in the strategic environment, has figured prominently in the talks. It is a concern, however, that is not discussed in a vacuum. All four countries have mutual interests in areas like the freedom of the seas, the shape of regional diplomatic architecture, counter-terrorism, intelligence cooperation, and non-traditional security. These interests have been the real drivers of our private discussions. The rise of China is not the issue. The issue is the challenges it is currently presenting to many shared quad interests. We remain open to ways to engage Chinese colleagues on the findings of our discussions.
And so at its core, what the Quad is is a combination of democracies. But…what also illuminates those four parties is a sense of responsibility and willingness to uphold the responsibilities, to extend the benefits of democracy, extend the benefits of economic development, and extend the benefits of security throughout the region.”
Stephen Biegun, Deputy Secretary of State
Remarks at the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum, August 2020
Conference Papers
2019 Conference Papers
- Vision Statement of the Quadrilateral Group
- Integrating the Quad into Other Regional Organizations (Hiroyuki Akita, The Japan Institute of International Affairs)
- The Importance of Maritime Domain Awareness for the Indo–Pacific Quad Countries (Dean Cheng, Senior Research Fellow, Asian Studies Center, The Heritage Foundation)
- Maritime Domain Awareness—Leaping Ahead (Dr. Malcolm R. Davis, Senior Analyst, Defense Strategy and Capability, The Australian Strategic Policy Institute)
- Managing the Asia–Pacific’s Second Missile Age (Abraham M. Denmark, Director, Asia Program, The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars)
- Quad as Maritime Cooperation in New Era (Ryosuke Hanada, Research Fellow, Japan Institute of International Affairs)
- Complexed Missile Threats and Integrated Missile Defense Cooperation (Masashi Murano, The Japan Institute of International Affairs)
- The New Afghanistan’s Potential for Regional Economic Cooperation and Connectivity (Dr. Orzala Nemat, Director, Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit and Dr. Nishank Motwani, Senior Research and Communications Manager, Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit)
- France and the Indo–Pacific: Devising a Strategy (Céline Pajon, Head of Japan Research, Center for Asian Studies, Institut Français des Relations Internationales)
Additional Resources
Additional News Items
- India, Australia hold first ‘2+2 dialogue” on strategic, defence ties
- How will the Quad Impact India’s Maritime Security Policy?
- Heated Debate in Australia over quadrilateral security dialogue
- From VIF - Quad: It shouldn’t be about China, but legit interests
- US, Japan, India, Australia ……Is Quad the First Step to an Asian NATO?
- The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of the Quad
- US, Japan, India, and Australia Hold Working-Level Quadrilateral Meeting on Regional Cooperation
- Quad redux: A new agenda for Asia’s maritime democracies
- How America and Its Indo-Pacific Allies Will Redefine Regional Security
- Facing an aggressive China: The US may be inching toward Asian alliance
- Quad Goals
- To Counter China, push Trump on Indo-Pacific Order
- Japan to propose OBOR-like project with India, US to counter China
- Japan to propose dialogue with US, India, and Australia
- Defining Our Relationship with India for the Next Century
- With China in Mind, Japan, India agree to deepen defense
- India and Japan Encircle China
- America’s Strategic Partnership with India Is About More than Afghanistan
- From ASPI – The Quad Redux: Casting Off the Albatross
- From ASPI – ‘Lawful Countermeasures’ and China’s South China Sea Claims
