Foreign ministers from India, the United States, Japan, and Australia said what began as an emergency response to a disaster has “grown into a full-fledged partnership delivering positive outcomes for the people of our region”.

The Quad will work together to respond to the region’s future needs, including cooperation in key areas such as maritime security, counterterrorism, and emerging technologies, the grouping’s foreign ministers said on Tuesday, marking the 20th anniversary of cooperation between India, Australia, Japan, and the US.

The Quad arose from the Indian government’s efforts, led by the late former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to coordinate with Australia, Japan, and the States in reacting to the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami on December 26, 2004. Another significant builder of the grouping that began as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue was late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who underlined India and Japan’s responsibility in fostering the connection of the Indian and Pacific Oceans when addressing a joint session of the Indian Parliament in 2007. Since then, the Quad has progressed from meeting at the level of senior officials to foreign ministers in 2019 and leaders in 2021. “The Quad is dedicated to collaborating in response to the future needs of the region,” the four foreign ministers – external affairs minister S Jaishankar, Australian foreign minister Penny Wong, Japanese foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya and US secretary of state Antony Blinken – said in a joint statement.

The quad countries now collaborate with partners across the Indo-Pacific to address complex challenges such as combating climate change, cancer, and pandemics, as well as improving quality infrastructure, maritime domain awareness, STEM education, counter-terrorism efforts, critical and emerging technologies, and cyber security, according to the statement.

The foreign ministers stated that what began as an emergency response to a disaster had “grown into a full-fledged partnership delivering positive outcomes for the people of our region”.

Though Quad members have frequently stated that they have an inclusive agenda aimed at ensuring a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific, many of their actions are aimed at countering China’s aggressive actions and providing more options to countries across the region in order to wean them away from Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative and other ventures that have resulted in nations being caught in a “debt trap”.

China has issued formal diplomatic protests to Quad members in recent years, and Chinese diplomats have even referred to the organization as an attempt to establish a “Asian NATO”. According to the joint statement, the leaders of the four nations have met yearly since 2021 to “drive the Quad’s positive contributions across South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific”. “As four partners, we share a vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific that is peaceful, stable, and prosperous, underpinned by effective regional institutions,” according to a statement. The Quad members reiterated their “unwavering support” for ASEAN’s centrality and unity, as well as the execution of the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Outlook.

The foreign ministers also emphasized the Quad’s origins in response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, stating that Australia, India, Japan, and the United States “came together in service to the people of our region for the first time as the grouping now known as the Quad”. They also remembered the “memories of those no longer with us” and acknowledged survivors and families of those who died. The tsunami was one of the deadliest disasters in history, killing about a quarter million people and displacing 1.7 million in 14 nations. “Together our four countries contributed over 40,000 emergency responders, working with other partners across the Indo-Pacific region to support millions of people affected by the catastrophe,” according to a statement.The tsunami was one of the deadliest disasters in history, killing about a quarter million people and displacing 1.7 million in 14 nations. “Together our four countries contributed over 40,000 emergency responders, working with other partners across the Indo-Pacific region to support millions of people affected by the catastrophe,” according to a statement.

The Quad members added that their fundamental commitment to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief remained strong. “We continue to collaborate to prepare for and respond to disasters throughout the region in a timely and effective manner.” In 2024, our four countries collaborated to boost disaster preparedness and life-saving relief efforts in the Indo-Pacific, and we continue to expand on those efforts to identify new ways to respond quickly to humanitarian emergencies and disasters,” the statement stated.