Modi at Quad summit: The China factor in Delhi's Indo-Pacific strategy

Like a lot of meetings this past year and a half, the first summit of the 'Quad' was virtual. The leaders from the group, which comprises the US, India, Australia and Japan, connected online from their various nations back in March and agreed to cooperate on delivering one billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine to Asian countries by the end of 2022.

Now the Quad will hold its first in-person meeting, in Washington DC on Friday, amid the fallout from a controversial new global joint security pact announced last week. That pact, known as Aukus, was signed by the US, UK and Australia, and will give Australia access to US nuclear-powered submarine technology for the first time.

So how does Aukus affect the Quad? Leaders from both these forums avoided mentioning China directly, but it's widely believed that their cooperation efforts are designed to counter China's influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

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