The Author is Former Director General of Information Systems and A Special Forces Veteran, Indian Army

The Sixth QUAD Leaders' Summit was hosted in Wilmington, Delaware, by the US President Joe Biden on September 21, 2024, which was attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. It was the last QUAD Summit to be attended by President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida since they are to demit their office in the near future.

Before departing for the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a statement, "I look forward to joining my colleagues President Biden, Prime Minister Albanese and Prime Minister Kishida for the QUAD Summit. The forum has emerged as a key group of like-minded countries to work for peace, progress and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region." He further said, "My meeting with President Biden will allow us to review and identify new pathways to further deepen India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership for the benefit of our people and the global good."

Prime Minister Modi reaffirmed India's commitment to the QUAD, describing it as 'Quick Unified Assistance Delivery,' emphasising the group's permanence in regional affairs

On September 20, a day before the summit, the White House announced that QUAD may announce expansion of the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness initiative from South East Asia to the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The maritime initiative which seeks to keep a check on illegal activities on seas was first launched at the QUAD Leaders Summit in Tokyo two years ago.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing at the Cancer Moonshot Event, in Wilmington, USA on September 21, 2024.

To take the QUAD agenda forward, the QUAD Leaders adopted the QUAD Wilmington Declaration, which had tangible projects that benefit partner countries across the Indo-Pacific--including in the Pacific, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean Region. The leaders pledged a collective QUAD effort to boost energy efficiency, including the deployment and manufacturing of high-efficiency, affordable cooling systems in the Indo-Pacific region. The projects announced include the 'QUAD Cancer Moonshot', an important partnership to save lives in the Indo-Pacific region by combating cervical cancer.

Another initiative announced was the 'Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific' (MAITRI) to enable Indo-Pacific partners to maximise tools provided through the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA). It aims to support the concept of open science for space-based monitoring of extreme weather events and climate impact. An announcement was also made for the first 'QUAD-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission' in 2025 to improve interoperability and advance maritime safety and the 'QUAD Ports of the Future Partnership,' which will harness the QUAD's collective expertise to support sustainable and resilient port infrastructure development across the Indo-Pacific.

A Semiconductor Supply Chains Contingency Network Memorandum of Cooperation was announced to enhance the resilience of QUAD's semiconductor supply chains

QUAD leaders also announced 'QUAD Principles for Development and Deployment of Digital Public Infrastructure' in the region and beyond. In addition, a "Semiconductor Supply Chains Contingency Network Memorandum of Cooperation" was announced to enhance the resilience of QUAD's semiconductor supply chains.

In his address at the summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed India's commitment to the QUAD. He described the grouping of Australia, India, US and Japan as "Quick Unified Assistance Delivery," and said that the regional body "is here to stay". Importantly, Modi announced the following:

• Establishment of a space-based web portal for Mauritius to support the concept of open science for space-based monitoring of extreme weather events and climate impact;
• A new sub-category under the QUAD STEM Fellowship for students of the Indo-Pacific region to pursue a four-year bachelor's level engineering programme at a Government of India-funded technical institute, and a 5 lakh scholarship enabling 50 students to benefit from this programme.

The QUAD summit did not mention China or Russia by name, but it is widely viewed as a de facto security alliance aimed at countering China's expansionist agenda

The statement issued by the leaders did not mention China or Russia, but it is essentially viewed as a de facto security alliance aimed at countering an expansionist Beijing-led axis. Pledging to be "a force for good that delivers real, positive, and enduring impact for the Indo-Pacific," QUAD leaders said in what was called the 5,700 word "Wilmington Declaration" that the countries are "more strategically aligned than ever before" and that they will "buttress the Indo-Pacific for decades to come."

China responded to the QUAD summit, with the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian stating in a media briefing on September 23 that QUAD is a tool used by the US to contain Beijing, and asserting that interference by any external force will not shake its determination to uphold its "sovereignty and maritime rights" in the disputed South and East China Seas. Referring to Biden's informal comments on China to fellow QUAD leaders at the summit, the Chinese spokesperson further said that the US says QUAD doesn't target China but the highest on its agenda is China.

The Sixth QUAD Leaders' Summit was held in the US-engineered military coup in Bangladesh to topple the Sheikh Hasina government. The summit was also somewhat tempered with Biden Joe Biden looking disoriented at the meeting and even forgetting Prime Minister Modi's name when it came to introduce him, till the staff reminded him. But American actions preceding the summit, as given below, are hardly conducive to healthy Indo-US relations:

• Just before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US, Gurpatwant Pannun, head of Sikhs for Justice and known CIA's pet weasel, filed a case in a US Court, following which the Court issued summons to NSA Ajit Doval, former R&AW Director Samant Goel and some others.
• White House met with a group of Sikh sympathisers of the Khalistan movement and assured them "protection from any transnational aggression on its soil"; a reconfirmation of US providing shelter, asylum and support to the Khalistani separatist movement that has been involved in terrorist activities in India.
• The US Under Secretary of State Donald Lu made a sudden visit to India when the Lok Sabha elections in 2024 were in full swing in India and visited Chennai, not Delhi – meeting the DMK coterie, with the leader periodically raising that has been raising secessionist demands for a separate state.

China responded to the QUAD summit, calling it a US-led tool to contain Beijing, while reaffirming its determination to uphold sovereignty and maritime rights in disputed seas

The US is projecting itself as the saviour against Chinese aggressive moves and it can certainly be expected to undertake large-scale posturing. However, when it comes to the Indian Ocean, will the US and China directly engages each other in conflict, knowing both have the capability to attack each other's mainland? This is unlikely although the US will provide all other assistance, including intelligence support and weapons, weapon platforms (at US prices) and the like, as long as these measures advance US strategic and economic interests. Finally, does the US really want India to be strong? Our policy makers and the readers can take a call on this.