Sandeep Dikshit
New Delhi, December 19
Senior officials from the Quad countries have discussed practical ways to cooperate on countering disinformation, an area that is part of a renewed focus by the NATO as well.
The read-outs from foreign offices of the four participating countries suggested that discussions have started to cover a wider range of topics to ensure a “free and open Indo-Pacific”.
These include critical minerals, the Mekong countries, North Korea and the East China Sea. The Quad is also discussing joint disaster relief exercises and coordination in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
During their virtual meeting on Friday, diplomats from India, the US, Australia and Japan —who call themselves the Quad — also talked about strengthening supply chain resiliency and to coordinate efforts to support countries “vulnerable to malign and coercive economic actions” in the Indo-Pacific region, said a US State Department readout of the interaction.