On July 29, the foreign ministers of the United States, Australia, Japan and India held a meeting in Tokyo within the framework of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, commonly referred to as Quad. While the main items of the agenda were maritime security, Houthi attacks and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the partners also affirmed their commitment to strengthening counterterrorism cooperation.
What is the reason for developing new platforms when there are functional institutions like the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism?
Unlike multilateral systems, minilateral ones have the advantage of being more region-oriented and devoid of ambiguity. For instance, given the complicated history between India and Pakistan, a security forum excluding the latter would more likely encourage Delhi to discuss sensitive issues.
In a joint statement released following the July event, the Quad participants denounced terrorism in all of its manifestations. Of special concern was terrorists’ use of modern communication technologies, drones and tunnels to achieve their goals. Also, the partners called for coordinated efforts to combat the groups designated by the UN as terrorists, primarily Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba.
While Al-Qaeda and ISIS are global jihadist groups, the other two focus their activities on specific regional issues. Both the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist organizations have been pursuing the goal of merging India’s Kashmir into Pakistan. Lashkar-e-Taiba is known as Pakistan’s most powerful jihadi group, founded in the mid-1980s with financial assistance from Osama bin Laden.
Working together to counter terrorist threats
However, the question arises as to whether the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue is well suited for promoting counterterrorism cooperation. The forum’s participants pledged to work together “to strengthen their capacity to prevent, identify and respond to threats posed by terrorism and violent extremism.” But what exactly has been achieved so far, given that Quad was initiated as far back as 2007?
In the counterterrorism domain, notable progress was made in March 2023 with the establishment of a Quad Working Group on Counterterrorism. The new platform is designed to facilitate the exchange of information on terrorist threats and the development of mechanisms for countering them.
The first meeting of the Quad Counterterrorism Working Group was held in Hawaii in December 2023. Hosted by the US Department of State, the event, among other things, included a tabletop exercise aimed at improving Quad cooperation in response to a terrorist threat. The next meeting and tabletop exercise are scheduled for November 2024 and will be hosted by Japan.
The key role of intelligence cooperation
Intelligence plays a central role in preventing terror attacks and ensuring public security. Promptly gathered credible information allows law enforcement to identify, locate, and neutralize perpetrators before they can implement their deadly plans.
When it comes to countering threats posed by global jihadism, well-established intelligence cooperation is key to successful counterterrorism. And this is what the Quad partnership really lacks.
Ken Kotani, a professor at Tokyo-based Nihon University, says that Japan is not expected to enhance its intelligence capability in the frame of Quad.
That’s “because Quad is a political alliance, not military nor intelligence,” Kotani told this author. “If Japan joins AUKUS or Five Eyes, she should strengthen her intelligence capability. I think that Japan will contribute to the AUKUS in three fields: counter-disinformation, cyber defense and GEOINT,” he added. GEOINT is geo-spacial intelligence, which allows for collecting and analyzing satellite imagery, aerial reconnaissance and geographic information system (GIS) findings.
Launched in September 2021, AUKUS unites Australia, the UK, and the USA. In contrast to the Quad, the trilateral alliance is set to promote security ties between the partners with a particular focus on intelligence sharing, military cooperation and technology exchange. Specifically, its work concerns the use of artificial intelligence, cyber technologies and quantum computing.
However, AUKUS is rather a closed club that is hard to enter. This is because the alliance works on sensitive technologies that the United States could entrust only to its closest partners on intelligence cooperation.
Progress is constant evolution
Regarding the Quad, there is certainly room for upgrading. The US could contribute heavily to building confidence among the partners by formalizing an intelligence-sharing network within the group, especially since all four countries already have bilateral and trilateral agreements.
For instance, the United States, Australia, and Japan concluded an information sharing arrangement in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2016. Over the past two decades, India and the United States have signed several documents with the purpose of facilitating the exchange of intelligence. The first one was the 2002 General Security of Military Information Agreement that enabled the sharing of military intelligence between India and the US.
In 2020, Washington and Delhi inked the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA), under which the US provided India with real-time access to its geospatial intelligence. It is worth noting that GEOINT is vital for counterterrorism operations.
Apart from a traditional defense application, GEOINT is effectively used by law enforcement to monitor the activities of terrorist groups and individuals involved with them. Satellite imagery, for instance, can help identify their training camps and other infrastructure. Another powerful tool for geospatial intelligence, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), is good at tracking movements in real time.
The Quad is beneficial to all the parties involved as it boosts cooperation in a variety of areas, including maritime security, disaster relief, cyber security, and counterterrorism. And yet complacency is never advisable. In order to last long and thrive, any alliance needs to evolve and keep abreast of the times. So should the Quad.
Tatiana Kanunnikova, a graduate of the Moscow State Institute of International Affairs, is at work on a thesis on counterterrorism and the fight against global jihadism.