The Quad might have finally found a mission amid Covid-19 pandemic

The Quad's priority should be the same as the rest of the region's: promoting growth and development that is healthy and less dependent on China

The informal “Quad” grouping of Indo-Pacific powers — Australia, India, Japan and the United States — has always seemed more like an aspiration than an alliance. The four democracies all have very different economies and interests. They prefer not to make explicit the one thing they share: worries about China’s rise. Even equally disparate groupings such as the BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — are far more institutionalised.

Judging by this month’s meeting of Quad leaders, however, the grouping may have matured. Most importantly, the four nations seem finally to have realised that to be effective,