India joins Quad partners in call for Indo-Pacific peace, ASEAN centrality amid Chinese assertiveness
The Quad grouping issued a joint statement reaffirming commitment to a "free and open Indo-Pacific" and extending "unwavering support" for ASEAN unity and centrality
The statement described peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific maritime domain as underpinning regional security and prosperity
Discussions covered practical implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) through cooperation on maritime and transnational security, economic prosperity, critical and emerging technologies, and humanitarian assistance
The joint statement was issued amid concerns over increased Chinese assertiveness in the region
The Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue)
The Quad is an informal strategic and security grouping of Australia, India, Japan and the United States, oriented around the shared goal of a "free, open and inclusive" Indo-Pacific. It is not a treaty-based military alliance; it functions through summits, ministerial meetings and working groups on areas such as maritime security, critical technology, health and climate.
Key Details
- First convened in 2007 at the ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila, following a proposal associated with Japan; it lapsed after 2008 amid concerns (including from China) about it hardening into an anti-China bloc
- Revived in late 2017 as the "Quad 2.0" amid growing concern over Chinese assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific
- Elevated to leaders'-level summits from 2021 onward; also holds regular Foreign Ministers' Meetings (Quad FMM)
- Widely viewed as a response to China's expanding economic and strategic influence in the Indo-Pacific, though the grouping avoids explicitly naming China in its joint statements
The joint statement is a Quad Foreign Ministers-level output, continuing the grouping's practice of issuing coordinated statements on Indo-Pacific stability without directly naming China, even as it is framed against the backdrop of Chinese assertiveness.
ASEAN Centrality and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP)
"ASEAN centrality" is the principle that ASEAN should remain the primary convening platform and driver of the regional security and economic architecture in the Indo-Pacific, rather than external powers setting the agenda. The AOIP is ASEAN's own framework document articulating this vision.
Key Details
- AOIP adopted at the 34th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok on 23 June 2019; it is a non-binding framework
- Guiding principles include ASEAN centrality, openness, a rules-based order, respect for sovereignty and non-intervention, and complementarity with existing cooperation mechanisms rather than creating new institutions
- The AOIP deliberately avoids naming any single country as a threat, positioning ASEAN as inclusive of both China and the US-aligned Quad members
- India's own parallel framework, the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), was launched in November 2019 at the ASEAN-led East Asia Summit in Bangkok, and similarly leans on the EAS mechanism rather than creating new institutions
By explicitly backing "ASEAN unity and centrality" and the AOIP's practical implementation, the Quad signals that it seeks to operate in support of ASEAN-led regional architecture rather than displace it — a recurring theme when Quad meetings are held on the margins of ASEAN-related engagements.
India's Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI)
IPOI is India's own non-treaty framework for Indo-Pacific maritime cooperation, complementary to both the Quad and the AOIP, reflecting India's preference for flexible, non-institutionalised regional cooperation.
Key Details
- Launched November 2019 at the East Asia Summit, Bangkok
- Seven pillars: Maritime Security; Maritime Ecology; Maritime Resources; Capacity Building and Resource Sharing; Disaster Risk Reduction and Management; Science, Technology and Academic Cooperation; and Trade, Connectivity and Maritime Transport
- Voluntary and non-treaty-based; does not create a new standing institution and works through the existing East Asia Summit membership (ASEAN plus eight dialogue partners)
IPOI and AOIP together illustrate India's and ASEAN's shared preference for flexible, non-alliance frameworks in the Indo-Pacific, which is the diplomatic register in which the Quad's latest statement is also framed (backing ASEAN structures rather than proposing an alternative bloc).
- Quad members: Australia, India, Japan, United States
- Quad first convened: 2007; lapsed 2008; revived: 2017
- AOIP adopted: 34th ASEAN Summit, Bangkok, 23 June 2019
- IPOI launched by India: November 2019, East Asia Summit, Bangkok (seven pillars)
- Quad cooperation areas referenced in the statement: maritime and transnational security, economic prosperity and security, critical and emerging technologies, humanitarian assistance and disaster response