25 February 2022
The Quad and Regional Health Security: Implications and Prospects for the Indo-Pacific
Executive Summary
Since its resurrection in 2017, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), involving the United States, Australia, Japan and India, has often made headlines as a China-containment mechanism. This extensive focus on the minilateral’s military–security value, however, overlooks the Quad’s potential to deliver regional public goods. This report examines the Quad’s health security initiatives. Although the Quad is only one institution among many playing the health diplomacy game, it has an outsized capacity to contribute to health security outcomes and diplomatic processes in the region due to, for instance, its medical resources and financial heft. It is thus worth assessing the challenges and opportunities for the Quad’s health security initiatives, as well as what the Quad’s evolving health security prong means for the wider region. This report first analyses the evolution, prospects and implications of the Quad’s health security prong. It then recommends policy initiatives the Quad can take to leverage synergies and secure buy-in from regional institutions with the aim of making health regionalism more inclusive.
Source: Unsplash
Executive Summary
Since its resurrection in 2017, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), involving the United States, Australia, Japan and India, has often made headlines as a China-containment mechanism. This extensive focus on the minilateral’s military–security value, however, overlooks the Quad’s potential to deliver regional public goods. This report examines the Quad’s health security initiatives. Although the Quad is only one institution among many playing the health diplomacy game, it has an outsized capacity to contribute to health security outcomes and diplomatic processes in the region due to, for instance, its medical resources and financial heft. It is thus worth assessing the challenges and opportunities for the Quad’s health security initiatives, as well as what the Quad’s evolving health security prong means for the wider region. This report first analyses the evolution, prospects and implications of the Quad’s health security prong. It then recommends policy initiatives the Quad can take to leverage synergies and secure buy-in from regional institutions with the aim of making health regionalism more inclusive.
Source: Unsplash
