Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue)

The Quad is an informal but strategically significant grouping of four Indo-Pacific democracies: India, the United States, Australia, and Japan. Its origins trace to the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami response, when the four nations formed an ad-hoc humanitarian coordination mechanism. The grouping was formalised as a security dialogue in 2007 at the ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila, then lapsed before being revived in 2017. The Quad was elevated to leader-level summits in March 2021 (virtual) and September 2021 (in-person, Washington DC). The grouping has no formal charter, secretariat, or binding defence obligations — it operates by consensus on shared principles.