The 11th Foreign Ministers meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) was hosted by India on May 26 in Delhi. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar chaired the meeting. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Toshimitsu Motegi, Foreign Minister of Japan participated in it. Prima facie the participation of all the ministers gives the impression that all four countries, including the US, are serious about the group but doubts remain because questions have been raised about President Donald Trump’s commitment to QUAD. 

As the US was the prime mover in setting up this group and is by far its most powerful member without its President’s dedication to move it purposefully forward QUAD has the danger of losing steam, if not becoming moribund. The US Secretary of State is an important political personality in that country’s system but he/she cannot give it the direction or the impetus to make QUAD into a group that will inspire confidence in Indo-Pacific countries. These countries are facing great Chinese pressure and need confidence that they can rely on the world’s pre-eminent power and other major Indo-Pacific states to provide countervailing and reliable support to resist such pressures. Without the US’ full and energetic participation they may find it convenient to go along with China.

One way to remove doubts about Trump’s commitment to QUAD was to give an indication about........

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