Quad Views: Quad Tokyo Summit Highlights New Sectoral Inroads

BGA’s teams from Australia, India, Japan and the United States wrote a cross-border update on the Quad Tokyo Summit which highlights new sector inroads and opportunities for companies.

Context

• Leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the United States met for the latest summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (“Quad”). The meeting was held in Tokyo, Japan on May 24.
• The Quad Summit came amid several other notable developments in the Indo-Pacific. This included the recent Australia elections which saw a change in leadership and the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which the team of U.S. President Joe Biden had planned to coincide with his first in-person Asia trip.

Significance

• The joint statement revealed the continued advances the grouping made with. Deliverables included a new partnership on maritime domain awareness and progress on upcoming items such as a track 1.5 dialogue with companies on telecommunications.
• The summit outcomes furthered development of the Quad as a flexible framework for collaboration among companies of the four countries. The countries affirmed that further collaboration in the private sector aligns with each country’s economic priorities, including in some key areas like education and critical and emerging technologies.

Implications

• The Quad’s evolution into a more sector-based grouping could present opportunities for private sector engagement. Apart from general areas for public good provision like vaccines or education, new ministerials in energy and transportation announced at the Quad summit could also widen opportunities for companies to engage with the grouping.
• Companies should also watch how the Quad develops alongside other notable regional developments and groupings. These include summitry involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the holding of the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s premier security summit in June.

BGA will continue to keep you updated on developments in the Indo-Pacific as they occur. If you have any comments or questions, please contact BGA Australia Managing Director Fergus Hanson at fhanson@bowergroupasia.com, BGA India Managing Director Ratan Shrivastava at ratan@bowergroupasia.com, BGA Japan Managing Director Kiyoaki Aburaki at kaburaki@bowergroupasia.com or BGA Head of Research Murray Hiebert at mhiebert@bowergroupasia.com.