What is in news : United States hosted the first ever in person meeting of QUAD leaders

About QUAD :

• The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, also known as the Quad, is a strategic dialogue between the United States (US), India, Australia, and Japan. The Quad was formed in 2007
• The beginning of the Quad group can be traced to the evolution of Exercise Malabar. The military exercise was widely viewed as a response to the increasing economic and military power of China. The Chinese government therefore issued formal diplomatic protests to the members of the Quad. The US, Japan, and India continue to hold joint naval exercises through Malabar.
• The Quad however ceased due to the withdrawal of Australia in the wake of the growing tension between the US and China in the Asia-Pacific region. In 2010, Julia Gillard replaced Australian PM Rudd following which enhanced military cooperation between Australia and the US was resumed.
• During the 2017 ASEAN Summits in Manila, all four member countries namely the US, India, Australia, and Japan led by Donald Trump, Narendra Modi, Malcolm Turnbull, and Shinzo Abe came together to revive the Quad alliance in order to curb the growing military power of China in the South China Sea.
• The objectives of the Quad are:
  • To advance the security and the economic interests of all countries.
  • To develop a free and open Indo-Pacific free of any Chinese influence,
  • To develop a rules-based maritime order in the South and East China seas to counter the Chinese military power