Not an alliance, Quad group of countries interested in strengthening rules-based order: US

Quad — comprising Japan, India, Australia and the United States — is not an alliance but a grouping of countries which are interested in strengthening a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region, the US has said.

The four countries had in 2017 given shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the “Quad” or the Quadrilateral coalition to counter China’s aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific region.

“There’s nothing about the Quad that it is an alliance. It is not formalized. There’s no reciprocal obligation among the countries who are involved. It’s not an organization that solicits membership,” a senior administration official said during a conference call with reporters ahead of the next week’s 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between India and the US.