The coast guards of India, Japan, the US and Australia have launched the first-ever "Quad-at-sea" mission to boost operational coordination and interoperability in the Indo-Pacific.
The decision to launch the mission was taken at the four-nation's grouping annual summit in Wilmington in September last year that was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Quad leaders.
"In a significant stride toward strengthening maritime security and interoperability in the Indo-Pacific, the coast guards of India, Japan, the United States, and Australia have launched the first-ever 'Quad at sea ship observer mission' under the Wilmington declaration," the defence ministry said.
"Two officers, including women officers, from each country have embarked on board US Coast Guard Cutter Stratton, which is currently sailing to Guam," it said.
The ministry said the "cross-embarkation mission" marks an unprecedented step to enhance joint readiness, operational coordination, and domain awareness in support of a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific.
"The mission reflects the vision laid out at the Quad leaders's summit in September 2024 and signifies a deepening of operational ties between the Indian Coast Guard, Japan Coast Guard, US Coast Guard and Australian Border Force," the ministry said in a statement.
In a joint statement, the Quad leaders on September 22 rolled out a number of new and ambitious initiatives in areas ranging from maritime security, infrastructure to critical and emerging technologies and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
A key outcome of the summit was a decision on having joint Coast Guard operations under a first-ever "Quad-at-Sea" ship observer mission to advance maritime safety and to continue with further missions in future across the Indo-Pacific.
The defence ministry said India's participation reinforces its strategic maritime vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and complements national efforts under the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI).
The Quad-at-sea initiative thus sets the foundation for fostering stronger trust, coordination, and collective resilience amid evolving maritime challenges in the region, the ministry added.
The IPOI is an open, inclusive, non-treaty based, global initiative that was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 14th East Asia Summit in November 2019 to promote collaborative efforts among like-minded nations to better manage, conserve and secure the Indo-Pacific maritime domain.
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