A Round Table Conference on the topic, “The QUAD in the Indo-Pacific: Consolidating Peace and prosperity” was organised on March 3rd, 2025 by Na Ra Japan Hub, a non-profit organisation aimed at promoting Indo-Japan relations. Seven delegates were invited from the Department of Political Science, School of Social Sciences, University of Hyderabad, to attend the event alongside two professors, Dr. S. Shaji and Dr. Bhim Subba. The students were elated and nervous as they arrived at the venue and the registration process went by smoothly with the students being encouraged to make conversation with the other attendees. After the initial settling in period, the event which was comprised of three sessions was inaugurated by a string of esteemed speakers who highlighted the significance of the event in the context of India being the host for the 2025 QUAD Summit. They introduced the concept of QUAD and its relevance as a ‘certainty’ in the current multipolar world fraught with uncertainties, underlining peace and prosperity as the two pillars of the same. The contours of QUAD and the contestation of it being labelled as a security alliance rather than a simple ‘humanitarian grouping’ were brought to the forefront with concepts such as para-diplomacy and ‘security architecture’ being elaborated.
The first session began after a short refreshment break and focused on QUAD cooperation for building an interconnected Indo-Pacific region. This session highlighted India’s unique position in the international order as one with the casting vote in the trajectory of the world order and the importance of networking in enhancing deference capabilities bringing attention to the overlap between the ideals outlined in Japan’s conception of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) and India’s Act East Policy. This was followed by lunch where the students enjoyed the delicious food along with the professors, striking meaningful conversations about the preceding and forthcoming sessions, after which, the next session on QUAD’s cooperation for Political and Economic convergences began. This session delved deeper into the nuances of cooperation in the region, highlighting the need for an inclusive Indian Ocean Region (IOR) policy and the lessons to be learned from the ‘small states’ like Maldives and Seychelles in navigating a delicate geopolitical-economic position as India finds itself in. Attention was also brought to aspects of environmental and human security as important factors to be taken into consideration in cooperative efforts. A short refreshment break was followed by the third and final session that gave special attention a need for cooperation in technology driven sectors such as air and space technology, pharmaceutical innovation, cyber security and STEM research calling for a need to bolster collaborative efforts and promote technology transfers.
Each session was illuminating, bringing out the nuances of QUAD and its significance in the Indo-Pacific region, underlining various lenses through which the situation could be viewed. Illuminating as the lectures were, they were also followed by vibrant discussions, especially during the refreshment breaks, which sparked various conversations that were carried over outside the venue. The event was brought to a close with a valedictory lecture that rounded out the preceding discussions with the assertion that reassurance was also imperative alongside collaboration, bringing attention to the ideals of growth and ‘de-risking’ and a need to learn from the mistakes of other collaborative efforts in the international arena. The event proved to be an enriching endeavour, broadening the horizons of thought on the QUAD and the Indo-Pacific region for the delegates and all the attendees alike. The students found the event to be a novel experience, providing insight into the world of academia and were exposed to many interesting lines of thought, making the event an academically enriching, and enjoyable experience.
Prepared by Ms Ann Elza Varughese, MA (2023-25)