“Delighted to speak to my friend Anthony Albanese. We took stock of progress in our bilateral relations and cooperation in the multilateral fora, including the Quad,” said Modi in a post on X.
While neither side said that the leaders discussed the possibility of an early Quad summit, the talks took place in the middle of efforts to have the delayed summit on the margins of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York next month.With Modi set to represent India at the UNGA, India is keen to host the summit on the sidelines there. As the US will remain preoccupied with the upcoming presidential elections for the next few months, this may effectively be the last chance for India to host the summit this year.
It was India’s turn to host the summit in 2024 but President Joe Biden’s inability to visit India in January coupled with India’s own elections in May put paid to the hopes of having the meeting in the first half of the year. India explored the possibility of hosting the meeting on the margins of the G7 summit in June in Italy but that didn’t materialise because Australia wasn’t invited for G7.
Hopes of having the summit on the margins of UNGA were rekindled this month after Japan PM Fumio Kishida decided to travel to the US to address the Assembly for what will be his last overseas trip as PM. Kishida is not seeking reelection in the ruling LDP presidential poll on September 27 and will step down as PM after his return from the US. Interestingly, former Japan PM Yoshihide Suga too had travelled to the US in September, 2021, to participate in the first in-person Quad summit just before he stepped down.
Amid Chinese assertiveness, Quad is being seen as playing an increasingly important role in ensuring a free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific that is resilient and free from coercion.
In a first, India joined other Quad nations last month in upholding in a joint statement the 2016 arbitral tribunal award that refuted Beijing’s expansive claims over SCS waters in its maritime dispute with the Philippines as the basis for peacefully resolving such disputes. Foreign minister S Jaishankar and his US, Australia and Japan counterparts – Antony Blinken, Penny Wong and Yoko Kamikawa respectively – called the award a significant milestone.
