QUAD COUNTRIES TO SEND 1 BILLION VACCINES ACROSS ASIA

The foreign secretary of India stated on March 12, 2020 that the Leaders of the United States, India, Australia and Japan have agreed to pool finance, manufacture and distribute the capacity in order to send 1 billion coronavirus vaccines across Asia and in the Indo-Pacific region to assist them by the year 2022.

Highlights

The “Quad” group comprising of four nations have the objective of expanding the global vaccinations in a counter to growing vaccination diplomacy of China in the Southeast Asia and across the world.
Among the four countries in the Quad group, India is the largest vaccine maker across the world. This will help in speeding up the process of post pandemic recovery.
This collaboration among the grouping will not impact the production of Vaccines for 1.4 billion people of India.
Thus, the India’s formidable vaccine production capacity will further be expanded with the help of US, Japan & Australia.
This way, the Quad will be a positive force for achieving the global good and peace in the region.

How this group will collaborate?

Under the agreement, India will be using its manufacturing capacity in order to make U.S. vaccines.
For that matter, the financing will be coming from U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
On the other hand, Australia will be financing the training.
The country will also provide the last-mile logistical support to distribute the vaccines in the Southeast Asia, Pacific Islands and countries in across the Indian Ocean.

What are the concerns?

This initiative might be hampered because of the export restrictions provided by the United States on the critical raw materials which are required for vaccine supply chain of India.
This is the only bilateral concern that exists between India and US with respect to the “QUAD Partnership on covid-19 vaccines”.

Quad

Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) is the informal strategic dialogue between India, USA, Japan and Australia with a shared objective to ensure and support a “free, open and prosperous” Indo-Pacific region.
The idea of Quad was first mooted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007. However, the idea couldn’t move ahead with Australia pulling out of it, apparently due to Chinese pressure.
In December 2012, Shinzo Abe again floated the concept of Asia’s “Democratic Security Diamond” involving Australia, India, Japan and the US to safeguard the maritime commons from the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific.
In November 2017, India, the US, Australia and Japan gave shape to the long-pending “Quad” Coalition to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence (especially China).

SOURCE: THE ECONOMIC TIMES,THE HINDU

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