Attachments
By Christopher Chen
SYNOPSIS
Quad leaders met in New York on 23 September 2022 and signed into operation the Guidelines for the ‘Quad Partnership on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) in the Indo-Pacific’. This represents an expansion of the scope of the Quad alliance and opens new prospects for ASEAN and Southeast Asia in this critical area of human security.
COMMENTARY
Since its commitment to establish a HADR mechanism to deal with humanitarian challenges in the Indo-Pacific region in March 2022, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (the Quad), comprising Australia, India, Japan and the United States, has accelerated efforts to operationalise this new strategic direction.
These included efforts to formalise guidelines for HADR partnership, indicating a serious attempt by the grouping to boost cooperation with Southeast Asian countries in the planning and preparation for, and response to humanitarian disasters. This presents an opportunity to kickstart meaningful collaboration between ASEAN and the Quad in HADR operations.