The joint statement issued by the Quad meeting does not help to clarify matters. It trots out the main rationale for the Quad, which is to ensure a free, open, rules-based order (undaunted by coercion) in the Indo-Pacific region. This highlights the security aspect of the alliance.As far as ‘vaccine cooperation’ is concerned, the statement covers up the utter failure of the Quad Vaccine Partnership, which was meant to provide more than a billion vaccines to the Indo-Pacific region as decided in its March meeting.The United States has refused to part with its huge stocks of vaccines to supply them to developing countries. India, which was given the responsibility to produce Johnson & Johnson vaccines at the Biological E. Ltd. and export them, failed spectacularly to do so; it had to halt all vaccine exports. It has now been promised that the production from Biological E will be exported later this year.But the aim of countering China’s vaccine diplomacy has already failed, since in the past few months, China has exported millions of doses of vaccine to the ASEAN countries like Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand.There are general statements about cooperation on critical and emerging technologies and developing supply chains. Another nebulous pronouncement is the launching of a new Quad infrastructure partnership. This obvious counter to the Belt and Road Initiative seems a non-starter as no specific plans have been spelt out.As foreign affairs commentator, M K Bhadrakumar, has stated: “In diplomacy, long winded statements become necessary when there is little substance to convey. The Quad statement has 2,145 words, yet says very little that we already did not know”.
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