CWA Commentary

Photo Source:
   NIAS Course on Global Politics
National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS)
Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bangalore
For any further information or to subscribe to GP alerts send an email to subachandran@nias.res.in
Print Bookmark

CWA # 450, 31 March 2021

NIAS GP Debate on Quad
The Quad Plus and the search beyond the four countries

  Akriti Sharma

The combined GDP of the Quad countries is about two times that of China. The countries can promote connectivity and infrastructure in the regions via partnering with other ASEAN countries.

Since 2007, the Quad has gone through ups and downs, with Australia withdrawing and rejoining it. Its revival in 2017 was termed as the Quad 2.0. With the establishment of Quad 2.0, Quad Plus emerged as a group of like-minded countries with a shared vision of ensuring Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP). In recent times Quad has built partnerships with the countries of Europe, Southeast Asia, and East Asia to promote its vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific. 

Vietnam, South Korea, New Zealand and the Quad
The first Quad Plus initiative took shape during the pandemic when the US Deputy Secretary of State Steve Beigun hosted the meeting of Quad to discuss the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The main highlight of the meeting was three additional countries: Vietnam, South Korea, and New Zealand. All three countries are strategically significant for Quad. Vietnam is a key player in Southeast Asia and a supporter of Quad. South Korea was the only country that successfully managed the COVID-19 spread. New Zealand has been a strong advocate of multilateralism in the Indo-Pacific region. In May 2020, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for a high-level meeting with the foreign ministers of Brazil, Israel, and South Korea to discuss the spread of COVID-19.

France and the Naval exercises
In the military sphere, the naval exercises have remained a key feature of Quad. France has announced its La Pérouse naval exercise with the Quad countries in the Bay of Bengal to promote maritime cooperation throughout the Indo-Pacific. French interest in the Indo-Pacific is due to its territories in the region. About 1.6 billion French population resides in the region and there are about 7,000 French troops deployed in the small islands which are its foreign territories.

Looking ahead: The China that bonds
Countries in the region will choose to cooperate with Quad because it offers an alternative strategy to counter Chinese aggression in the region. The countries of the Indo-Pacific are worried about the Chinese infrastructural projects, debt trap, and the policy of expansionism. Quad offers a multilateral platform for the countries to deal with China as none of them are in a position to do that unilaterally. Quad offers a multilateral approach towards Indo-Pacific that would provide space for other countries to achieve the vision of Free and Open Indo-Pacific. 
The first Quad Summit was a significant development in the history of Quad. The summit signals Biden's approach towards the Indo-Pacific region. Being his first multilateral initiative as President, he hinted at a more rigorous approach towards Indo-Pacific. His approach differs from Trump who engaged indirectly calling out China. Biden has taken a soft approach towards China by widening the scope of areas of cooperation from traditional to non-traditional issues. 

The summit discussed issues such as climate change, new technologies, and vaccine development. The widening of areas provides Quad with various opportunities. First, it helps the Quad leaders to change the narrative of Quad as a security alliance. Including non-traditional areas such as climate change, technology, and vaccine development will help Quad to achieve the Indo-Pacific vision in a much more comprehensive way. Second, a shift from traditional to non-traditional also opens possibilities for other countries to build a partnership with Quad without the fear of China. So far, countries have been sceptical about building partnerships with Quad because of fear of China, including Australia, which backed out from Quad, showing a tilt towards China. Issues of non-traditional security broaden the scope for countries to cooperate with Quad without involving themselves in big power rivalry, which is a move towards Quad Plus.

Quad has been reaffirming "strong support for ASEAN's unity and centrality as well as the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific". Building partnership with the ASEAN countries is significant to achieve the objective of Quad Plus. Geographically, Southeast Asia is a mid-point between the Indian and the Pacific Ocean. This increases the significance of the region for Quad. ASEAN has been apprehensive about the formation of Quad as it would decrease its centrality in the region. If Quad wants to achieve its ultimate goal of containing Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific, it would be difficult to achieve without cooperating with the Southeast Asian countries. However, how Quad engages with the Southeast countries to build partnerships to contain China's rise in the Indo-Pacific will be something to look out for in the coming years.

ASEAN and the Quad
Countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines are the key strategic players of ASEAN. Cooperation with these countries on shared interest would widen the scope of Quad. One of the areas where ASEAN and Quad can cooperate is economic and global supply chains which China dominates. Remaking of the global supply chains will help in diluting the Chinese influence in the region. Some other areas where Quad can cooperate with other countries are connectivity and infrastructure. The combined GDP of the Quad countries is about two times that of China. The countries can promote connectivity and infrastructure in the regions via partnering with other ASEAN countries.

About the author
Akriti Sharma is currently a PhD scholar, at the Science Diplomacy Programme, School of Conflict and Security Studies, National Institute of Advanced Studies. Her area of interest includes Climate Change in the Himalayas and Indian Foreign Policy.

Print Bookmark

Other CWA Publications

NIAS AFRICA STUDIES
May 2023 | CWA # 963

Devjyoti Saha

Japan in Africa: Renewed Efforts to Revitalise Relations

read more
NIAS Europe Studies Brief
May 2023 | CWA # 962

Indrani Talukdar

Russia's Position in the Arctic: New challenges

read more
NIAS Europe Studies Brief
May 2023 | CWA # 961

Debangana Chatterjee

The Ground Reality of Feminist Foreign Policy: A Conceptual Analysis of the European Framework

read more
NIAS Europe Studies Brief
May 2023 | CWA # 960

Kasturi Chatterjee

European Integration: Why Recognition of the Armenian Genocide Matters for the EU

read more
NIAS Europe Studies Brief
May 2023 | CWA # 959

Ankita Dutta

Ukraine crisis: Relooking the Security Debates in Europe

read more
NIAS Europe Studies Brief
May 2023 | CWA # 958

Amrita Purkayastha

Assessing EU Integration over the Years by Analysing the Response of Member Countries to Refugees

read more
The World This Week
May 2023 | CWA # 957

GP Team

Thailand elections, G7 Summit challenges, and Ecuador's new instability

read more
Conflict Weekly
May 2023 | CWA # 956

IPRI Team

Bhutan's Gross National Happiness, Return of Syria to the Arab League, Seventh Ceasefire in Sudan, Bakhmut Battle in Ukraine, Zelenskyy's Diplomatic Offensive, and WMO Report Takeaways

read more
Commentary
May 2023 | CWA # 955

Amit Gupta

The Trump Phenomenon: Why it Won’t Go

read more
The World This Week
May 2023 | CWA # 954

GP Team

G7 Summit in Japan, and China-Central Asia Summit in Xian

read more
The World This Week
May 2023 | CWA # 953

GP Team

Sheikh Hasina’s Visit to the US, UK and Japan

read more
NIAS Europe Studies
May 2023 | CWA # 952

Rishika Yadav

Turkey’s Election: Issues, Actors and Outcomes

read more
Conflict Weekly
May 2023 | CWA # 951

IPRI Team

The Armenia-Azerbaijan Stalemate

read more
The World This Week
May 2023 | CWA # 950

GP Team

ASEAN- India Maritime Exercise, and President Marcos' US Visit

read more
Conflict Weekly
May 2023 | CWA # 949

IPRI Team

Another ceasefire in Sudan, and a Counteroffensive in Ukraine

read more
NIAS AFRICA WEEKLY
May 2023 | CWA # 948

NIAS Africa Team

Droughts in East Africa: A climate disaster

read more

Click below links for year wise archive
2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018