A Quad alliance for emerging technology

Technological capabilities have becoming an integral part of geostrategic security. The same way that manufacturing and industrial strengths allowed countries to dominate the world, prowess in emerging tech is guiding global politics.

This thought process and consequent action is being shaped by the fear of China as a strong but opaque tech giant. The latest manifestation has been seen in the statement by the Quad countries in September. The “Quad Principles on Technology, Design, Development, Governance and Use” were issued independent of the main statement, signifying the focus on technology.

“We are committed to the development of critical and emerging technology that yields tangible benefits for society, developed through a multi-stakeholder approach that is adaptive, dynamic, and aligns with universal values, including respect for freedom of expression and privacy,” the principles say. “The Quad countries (Australia, India, Japan, and the United States of America) affirm that the ways in which technology is designed, developed, governed, and used should be shaped by our shared democratic values and respect for universal human rights.”

The reference to human rights and democracy is an unsaid reference to China. In recent years, the defence security and technology strategy of the US has come to be defined by the rise of China. An assessment by the research group Rand Corporation says as much about the Third Offset Policy of the US government. “The aim of the Third Offset was to draw on US advanced technologies to offset China’s and Russia’s technological advances. These efforts were successful in that the 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS) embraced many of the fundamental tenets of technological advances and organisational changes developed by the Third Offset.”

China has invested several billion dollars in emerging tech. Its activities in cyber hacking, investment in robotics, deployment of artificial intelligence have been well documented. In some ways, each of the Quad countries have been steadily raising the gates to counter the stunning rise of China as a tech giant.

To counter China, the Quad has recognised the need to collaborate in areas which were sacrosanct or were controlled by strict conditions. “We are committed to reducing barriers to data and knowledge sharing for research projects and greater innovation, while protecting research security,” says the statement in the Quad principles on tech. The four countries have agreed to share research and movement of highly skilled experts — this at a time when Quad countries are rigorously weeding out Chinese researchers suspected of spying or stealing technology.

The Washington DC-based body, Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC), is among those that have welcomed the Quad’s focus on private sector collaboration between the four countries. An important aspect of this will be the setting of common standards and protocols for interoperability of tech tools. “We support the pledge to drive new opportunities for innovation and technology like 5G and commitment to private sector-driven international standards and commend the initiative to foster STEM education across the countries,” says Kumar Deep Banerjee, Country Manager, India, of ITIC. The members of ITIC include Accenture, Cisco, Fujitsu, IBM, Microsoft, Toshiba and Qualcomm.

India has already announced collaborations in defence security systems driven by emerging tech. These include drone manufacturing and cyber security. While the fear of a world dominated by Chinese tech has brought the large democracies together, the Quad governments have to harmonise their standards and approach to using technologies. Currently, most governments are independently countering China. For instance, India has strict rules on telecom hardware acquisition. Collaboration will require sharing of data, information and IP between the countries, without which the Quad effort may falter. Business Standard