The leaders of the Quad – a security dialogue that includes the U.S., India, Japan, and Australia –held their historic first summit level meeting on March 12. The summit is the latest signal indicating the Quad has gained considerable momentum amid the rising influence of China in the Indo-Pacific region. As the summit drew international attention, South Korea and the United Kingdom both expressed interest in joining the Quad.

According to U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, the four leaders discussed “the challenge posed by China, and they made clear that none of them have any illusions about China.” The Quad summit also covered a wide range of security issues including the East and South China Seas, cyber security, and the recent coup in Myanmar. Moreover, the U.S. and Japan both promised financial support to India’s vaccine production through the Quad Vaccine Partnership, while the four countries planned to establish closer cooperation in climate change and technological development through the Quad Climate Working Group and the Quad Critical and Emerging Technology Working Group.

After the summit, the leaders of the Quad issued a rare joint op-ed for the Washington Post, in which they pledge to “ensure that the Indo-Pacific is accessible and dynamic, governed by international law and bedrock principles such as freedom of navigation and peaceful resolution of disputes, and that all countries are able to make their own political choices, free from coercion.” Without referencing China, the leaders acknowledge that such a vision “has increasingly been tested,” but they agree that “those trials have only strengthened our resolve to reckon with the most urgent of global challenges together.”

In this Policy Alert, we examine how the Rising Powers are responding to the outcome of the first Quad summit.

Read the Policy Alert here.