Quad pledges $50 billion package with ‘tangible benefits’ to check China

What is the News?

The second in-person and fourth meeting of Quad have happened recently. The leaders committed $50 billion for sustainable and demand-driven infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific and announced a Maritime Domain Awareness surveillance initiative to combat illegal fishing by the Chinese.

What are the key outcomes of Quad Summit?

Regarding terrorism: Quad leaders denounced the use of terrorist proxies and emphasised the importance of denying any logistical, financial or military support to terrorist groups which could be used to launch or plan terror attacks, including “cross-border attacks.

Infrastructure funding: The Quad will seek to extend more than $50 billion of infrastructure assistance and investment in the Indo-Pacific, over the next five years.

This fund will be used for demand-driven infrastructure and not lead to any “unsustainable bouquet of projects”.

Launched Quad Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Package (Q-CHAMP): Q-CHAMP includes a) ongoing activities under the Quad Climate Working Group such as, green shipping and ports, clean energy cooperation in clean hydrogen and methane emissions, etc. b) New cooperation in clean fuel ammonia, CCUS/Carbon Recycling, cooperation and capacity-building support to advance high integrity carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, etc.

To make Q-CHAMP tangible, Quad leaders committed to expanding programs, in support of climate actions between four countries as well as in the Indo-Pacific region.

Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) initiative: This initiative is designed to work with regional partners to respond to humanitarian and natural disasters, and combat illegal fishing.

IMPDA will support and work in consultation with Indo-Pacific nations and regional information fusion centers in the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands.

Established Quad Partnership on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) in the Indo-Pacific: This Partnership will further strengthen the collaboration to effectively respond to disasters in the region.

Promote debt sustainability: China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) faces international scrutiny for irresponsible lending. Hence, the Quad will strengthen the capacities of the countries in need to cope with debt issues under the G20 Common Framework and by promoting debt sustainability and transparency.

This is achieved through the ‘Quad Debt Management Resource Portal’. The portal consists of multiple bilateral and multilateral capacity-building assistance.

On cyber security: The Quad partners will initiate the first-ever Quad Cybersecurity Day to help individual internet users across our nations, the Indo-Pacific region, and beyond to better protect themselves from cyber threats.

Source: The post is based on the article “Quad pledges $50 billion package with ‘tangible benefits’ to check China” published in TOI on 25th May 2022.