On July 29, the foreign ministers of the United States, Australia, Japan and India met in Tokyo within the framework of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, commonly known as the Quad. The main topics on the agenda were maritime security, attacks on the Houthi rebels and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, but the partners also confirmed their commitment to strengthening counter-terrorism cooperation.
Why develop a new platform when we have a functional institution like the UN Office for Counter-Terrorism?
Unlike the multilateral system, the smaller system has the advantage of being more regionally oriented and less ambiguous. For example, given the complicated history between India and Pakistan, a security forum that excludes Pakistan would be more likely to encourage India to discuss sensitive issues.
In a joint statement issued after their July meeting, the Quad countries condemned terrorism in all its forms, and were particularly concerned by terrorists' use of modern communications technology, drones and tunnels to achieve their goals. They also called for coordinated efforts to combat groups designated by the UN as terrorist, primarily al-Qaida, ISIS, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba.
While Al-Qaeda and ISIS are global jihadist groups, the other two focus their activities on specific regional issues. Both terrorist organisations, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Toiba, have pursued the goal of annexing Indian Kashmir to Pakistan. Lashkar-e-Toiba was established in the mid-1980s with financial support from Osama bin Laden and is known as the most powerful jihadist group in Pakistan.
Working together to counter the threat of terrorism
However, the question arises as to whether the Quad Security Dialogue is well suited to fostering counter-terrorism cooperation. Forum participants pledged to work together to “strengthen capacities to prevent, identify and respond to the threats of terrorism and violent extremism.” But given that the Quad Security Dialogue was launched in 2007, what specifically has been achieved so far?
Significant progress has been made in the counter-terrorism field with the establishment of the Quad Counter-Terrorism Working Group in March 2023. This new platform aims to facilitate the exchange of information on terrorist threats and the development of mechanisms to counter them.
The Quad counterterrorism working group's first meeting was held in Hawaii in December 2023. The meeting, hosted by the State Department, included a tabletop exercise aimed at strengthening Quad cooperation in responding to terrorist threats. The next meeting and tabletop exercise is scheduled for November 2024 and will be hosted by Japan.
The important role of intelligence cooperation
Intelligence plays a central role in preventing terrorist attacks and ensuring public safety. Rapidly collected, reliable information enables law enforcement agencies to identify, locate and neutralize perpetrators before they can carry out their deadly plans.
When it comes to countering the global jihadist threat, well-established intelligence cooperation is key to successful counterterrorism operations, and this is exactly what the Quad partnership is lacking.
Japan is not expected to strengthen its intelligence capabilities within the Quad framework, said Ken Kotani, a professor at Tokyo-based Nihon University.
“Quad is a political alliance, not a military or intelligence alliance,” Kotani told me. “If Japan joins AUKUS or the Five Eyes, it should strengthen its intelligence capabilities. I think Japan will contribute to AUKUS in three areas: counter-disinformation, cyber defense, and GEOINT,” he added. GEOINT is geospatial information, which allows for the collection and analysis of satellite imagery, aerial reconnaissance, and geographic information system (GIS) survey results.
Launched in September 2021, AUKUS brings together Australia, the UK and the US. In contrast to the Quad, the tripartite alliance aims to foster security ties between the partners, with a particular focus on intelligence sharing, military cooperation and technology exchange. Specifically, it is committed to harnessing artificial intelligence, cyber technology and quantum computing.
But AUKUS is a rather closed club that is difficult to join because the alliance deals with sensitive technologies and the US can only defer to its closest partners in intelligence cooperation.
Progress is a constant evolution
As for the Quad, there is certainly room for upgrades. The U.S. could go a long way in building trust among its partners by formalizing an information-sharing network within the grouping, especially since all four nations already have bilateral and trilateral agreements in place.
For example, the US, Australia and Japan signed an intelligence-sharing agreement in Honolulu, Hawaii in 2016. Over the last two decades, India and the US have signed several documents with the aim of facilitating intelligence exchange. The first was the 2002 General Security of Military Information Agreement which enabled the sharing of military intelligence between India and the US.
In 2020, Washington and India signed the Basic Intelligence Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA), under which the US provided India with real-time access to geospatial intelligence. It is worth noting that GEOINT is essential for counterterrorism operations.
Besides traditional defense applications, GEOINT is effectively used by law enforcement agencies to monitor the activities of terrorist groups and individuals associated with them. For example, satellite imagery helps identify terrorist training camps and other infrastructure. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), another powerful tool of geospatial intelligence, are well suited to tracking movements in real time.
The Quad is beneficial to all involved as it fosters cooperation in a variety of areas, including maritime security, disaster relief, cybersecurity and counter-terrorism. But it would be unwise to become complacent. To survive and thrive, any alliance must evolve and keep up with the times. And so should the Quad.
Tatyana Kanunnikova, a graduate of Moscow State University of International Studies, is writing her thesis on counter-terrorism and the global fight against jihadism.
