The Quad grouping of India, Australia, Japan and the United States has taken another step towards operationalising a shared logistics network aimed at strengthening humanitarian assistance and disaster-relief operations across the Indo-Pacific.
The four countries recently concluded a tabletop exercise in Tokyo focused on the Quad Indo-Pacific Logistics Network (IPLN), with discussions making “significant progress” on standard operating procedures that will provide the initiative with an institutional framework, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said.
Hosted by Japan’s Ministry of Defense on September 3–4, the exercise used natural-disaster scenarios to assess how the four countries could integrate their existing logistics capabilities while improving interoperability, coordination and rapid response.
The Tokyo exercise followed the first IPLN tabletop exercise held in Hawaii in April 2025 and a field training exercise in Guam in December. The partners also discussed mechanisms for coordinating relief operations during future crises and emergencies and expressed condolences to communities affected by recent floods.
The IPLN was launched as a civilian humanitarian initiative at the September 2024 Quad Leaders’ Summit, drawing on the existing logistics assets and capabilities of the four countries to facilitate faster and more coordinated disaster response.
The latest exercise comes amid intensified engagement between India and its three Quad partners. The Indian Air Force and Japan Air Self-Defense Force are conducting Veer Guardian-2026 at Jodhpur from September 9–22, while the 22nd edition of Yudh Abhyas with the US Army is underway at high-altitude locations until September 28.
The developments also coincide with renewed India-China diplomatic engagement following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi. While India has stressed that peace and tranquillity along the border remain essential for restoring normal relations, Beijing has called for progress on bilateral cooperation alongside efforts to address the boundary issue.
New Delhi maintains that the Quad is not a military alliance, with its agenda also covering maritime security, critical and emerging technologies, economic cooperation and humanitarian assistance. China, however, has repeatedly criticised the grouping as an effort to contain Beijing, a characterisation rejected by India and the other Quad members.