Written by: Shrivara Mahajan
Image Courtsy: The Diplomat
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or QUAD is an informal strategic forum aiming to work for a free, open, prosperous, and inclusive Indo-Pacific Region. The QUAD alliance consisting of India, the United States, Australia, and Japan began as a coordination mechanism to respond to the humanitarian crisis in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. The group of four countries met for the first time in 2007 on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, officially recognised as ASEAN. It is considered an alliance of maritime democracies and the forum is maintained by meetings, semi-regular summits, information exchanges and military drills of all member countries. The motive behind QUAD is to reap the strategic sea routes in the Indo-Pacific, free of any military or political influence. It is seen as a strategic grouping to reduce Chinese domination in the region. The core objective of QUAD is to secure the rules-based global order, freedom of navigation and a liberal trading system. The coalition also aims to offer alternative debt financing for the nations in the Indo-Pacific Region. QUAD leaders exchange views on contemporary global issues such as critical and emerging technologies, connectivity, cyber security, maritime security, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, climate change, pandemic and education.
In this sense, such an alliance system has put forth the power dynamic at the forefront and thus understanding the theoretical framework of balance of power becomes unavoidable. The concept of balance of power is one of the most important theoretical frameworks in the field of international relations and diplomacy. Fundamentally, it is concerned with nations joining an alliance system against a dominant power that poses a threat to the security of other nations. However, the relevance and significance of the balance of power have amplified with the rise of China. China’s growing power projection capabilities have also had a great impact on the QUAD circle. The Sino-Indian border clash, the Sino-Australian relations straining their bilateral ties and the Sino-Japanese relations going downhill. All of these clashes have exemplified the notion of the rise of power competition with China. This has led to the most profound impact on the geopolitical landscape in the 21st century. Thus, the balance of power theory supports our understanding of the current security structure in the Indo-Pacific. Therefore, the theory is centred on the rise of China and its security implications.
The revival of the QUAD in 2017 against the intimidating rising power of China supports the structural framework of the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific. With the coming of great power politics, the major powers in the region are trying to enhance their internal balance. Through bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, the QUAD engages in regular high-level diplomatic meetings and participates in trilateral and multilateral forums to strengthen regional cooperation, through economic engagement they aim to diversify their economic dependencies and reduce reliance on China by promoting economic ties with each other, through infrastructural development they jointly invest in infrastructural projects in the Indo-Pacific region to counter China. They also engage in soft power diplomacy, regional partnerships, and diplomatic values to strengthen internal balance.
It is a measure focusing on China’s power parity and assertiveness in formulating foreign policy in the region. China’s relative annual increase in their defence budget which is highest among its regional peers has attracted a lot of eyes in other Asian capitals. Beijing’s foreign policy, which is predominated by power projections has led other major powers to start enhancing their relative power capabilities in addition to restructuring their alliances. The rising China presents multiple factors for QUAD to face. The growing Chinese footprint via the (BRI) Belt and Road Initiative has been a central issue of concern among the QUAD nations. The BRI under its maritime initiative has the potential to overturn the balance of power in the region. Construction of some major ports stretching from Sri Lanka and Myanmar to Pakistan and the South Pacific appears to have extended Beijing’s strategic power in the region. Respectively, these nations are increasing their military capabilities, their economic powers and are making strategic policy decisions that would provide them with a strategic edge.
Balance of power theory in the Indo-Pacific is centred on the rise of China, which many believe will not prove to be peaceful with Beijing trying to overturn the power index in its favour. Under its BRI initiative, Beijing has exponentially increased its foothold and power projection capabilities in the region and has led other major powers to view Beijing as a security challenge. This can be pointed out as a primary factor for the formulation of the Indo-Pacific construct and revival of QUAD. One can also argue that the fundamental aspect of Quad is to maintain the balance of power in the region. However, QUAD is still far from being a formal military alliance and is labelled instead as a grouping of like-minded democracies.
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6. Garima Mohan, “Europe in the Indo-Pacific: A Case for More Coordination with Quad Countries,” German Marshall Fund of the United States, 14 January 2020
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