Quad launches MAITRI Maritime Initiative in Indo-Pacific ; India to host first training workshop in 2025

The first MAITRI workshop will be hosted by India in 2025, said Nancy Izzo Jackson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs. “We are also proud to announce a new regional maritime initiative for training in the Indo-Pacific or MAITRI with an inaugural symposium in 2025 that will be hosted by India,” she said in a post on X, unveiling a key component of the Quad’s maritime strategy.

The MAITRI initiative was among the major outcomes of the sixth summit level meeting of the Quad group of countries, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, US. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Delaware.

The initiative highlights the Quad’s commitment to regional security and capacity building, particularly in the maritime domain.It also builds on the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA), a previous initiative designed to deliver maritime domain awareness information to partners. With MAITRI, countries in the IndoPacific can better enforce their maritime laws and deter unlawful activities.

The Quad leaders expressed their deep concern over recent “dangerous and aggressive actions in the maritime domain,” according to the Wilmington Declaration. They condemned illicit missile launches and affirmed their collective opposition to unilateral actions that threaten peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. They emphasised the need for international cooperation and adherence to the rule of law, democratic values, and the peaceful settlement of disputes. Their commitment reflects the Quad’s broader strategic alignment in the region, where they have become a force for maintaining global security.

Among the key initiatives announced was the Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission, scheduled to launch in 2025. This initiative aims to improve interoperability and maritime safety, advancing cooperation among member countries. Additionally, the Quad introduced the Indo-Pacific Logistics Network pilot project to bolster disaster response capabilities through shared airlift capacity and logistics resources.

The Quad leaders also welcomed the launch of a Quad maritime legal dialogue to support efforts to uphold the rules-based maritime order in the Indo-Pacific.

As per the Wilmington Declartion issued after the Quad Leaders’ Summit in the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) was announcd in 2022 to offer near-real-time, integrated, and costeffective maritime domain awareness information to partners in the region.

Since then, in consultation with partners, the US have successfully scaled the program across the IndoPacific region–through the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, with partners in Southeast Asia, to the Information Fusion Center–Indian Ocean Region, Gurugram. In doing so, the Quad has helped over two dozen countries access dark vessel maritime domain awareness data, so they can better monitor the activities in their exclusive economic zones–including unlawful activity.