‘Here to stay’: Indo-Pacific Quad leaders to meet at White House

First in-person leader meet of US, Japan, India and Australia grouping signals ‘durability’ despite differences.

The leaders of the United States, Japan, India and Australia will meet on Friday for their first in-person person summit of the Indo-Pacific Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or so-called “Quad” grouping.

The informal arrangement, with the countries first working together in response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, has increasingly solidified since 2017. It has been fuelled by consecutive US administration’s policies towards China, and aided in no small part by individual tensions between Tokyo, Canberra, New Delhi with Beijing.

Quad meetings in recent years have gradually worked their way up in the chain of command, with the grouping holding its first – albeit virtual – summit in March.