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Quad’s quiet resilience: Minilateral diplomacy in a fractured world
The Quad—comprising the US, India, Japan, and Australia—has persisted as a minilateral forum despite gaps in leaders’ summits and shifting domestic priorities. It traces a history from informal origins in 2007, through a 2008 withdrawal and a 2017 revival, to sustained ministerial-level engagement in 2025 and planned discussions in 2026, underscoring a pragmatic approach to regional security and economic cooperation in a fragmented order.
Why It Matters
The Quad demonstrates how flexible, purpose-built coalitions can maintain influence and deliver concrete security and economic outcomes without formal treaty commitments, potentially shaping Indo-Pacific order amid great-power competition.
Timeline
7 Events
Rubio visit to New Delhi and Quad talks (scheduled)
May 16, 2026
Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s planned visit to New Delhi for bilateral consultations with Indian leadership and a Quad foreign ministers’ meeting, scheduled for May 24–26, 2026, as part of ongoing efforts to reset and deepen India-US ties within the Quad framework.
July 1, 2025 Quad foreign ministers’ meeting
July 1, 2025
A second Quad foreign ministers’ meeting in Washington expanded the agenda to maritime and transnational security, economic prosperity and security, critical and emerging technologies, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief; they launched the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative and announced cooperation on illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and law-enforcement capacity-building.
January 21, 2025 Quad meeting in Washington
January 21, 2025
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio convened the Quad counterparts—India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Australia’s Penny Wong, and Japan’s Takeshi Iwaya—in Washington, hours after his confirmation; the meeting reaffirmed commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and opposition to unilateral changes to the status quo by force or coercion.
2025 absence of leaders-level summit
2025
India was scheduled to host the Quad leaders’ summit in 2025, but the year passed without a leaders-level gathering, although ministerial engagements continued, indicating a maintained but non-summit pace of cooperation.
Quad revival in 2017
2017
The Quad was quietly revived in 2017, after a period of hibernation, driven by shared democratic values, maritime interests, and a desire to uphold the rules-based order.
Australia withdraws from Quad
2008
Australia withdrew from the Quad in 2008 under Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, a move tied to Beijing’s opposition to the grouping and a priority to maintain trade ties with China; the decision was announced alongside Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi.
Quad inaugurated informally
2007
Quad began informally in 2007 as a response to the Indian Ocean tsunami and growing concerns over Chinese assertiveness.