The Quad is an informal organization, officially known as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, among four states: Australia, India, Japan, and the United States of America; initially established in 2007 to establish coordination, collaboration, and dialogue on different conventional and non-conventional issues in the Indo-Pacific. Although Australia left the alliance in 2008, it rejoined it later on. The Quad acts in the regions as a four-eyed watch to keep a check on growing international political changes and the changing dynamics of international trade in the Indo-Pacific region. The Indo-Pacific is primarily one of the most important regions because of three factors: its strategic location, its economic importance, and its international maritime trade routes. Therefore, the region is a very important site for both regional and international actors, and it is assumed that anyone who controls Indo-pacific will be the leader of the world in the future.
The region is significant economically since it contributes more than 60% of the world’s GDP and approximately 50% of its trade in goods. The area is regarded as an energy hub since it has many gas and oil reservoirs. Additionally, this area provides food because it has the best fishing opportunities. The region also has a variety of minerals.
The region is strategically important because it is home to seven major militaries, including nuclear powers, like the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of India, and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The Arabian Sea, the South China Sea, and the East China Sea are all important seas in this region. China has its own historic claim in the South and East China Seas, which has caused several disputes in the region. In the Arabian Sea, on the other hand, two major rivals, India and Pakistan, have very important strategic locations in the region. The region is essential to the global economy in terms of maritime trade routes. Six international trade routes exist in the Indo-Pacific region: About 40% of Middle Eastern oil and gas transit via the Strait of Hormuz, which runs between Oman and Iran. This is one of the major trading routes connecting the Middle East with the rest of the globe.
A similar key trade route is the Strait of Malacca, which lies between Indonesia and Malaysia and is used for 25% of global trade and 40% of Chinese trade. It connects important economies like those in the Middle East, China, Japan, and South Korea. Then there is Bab-el-Mandeb, which connects Asia with the US via Europe and is located between Djibouti and Yemen. It is a gateway for Middle Eastern oil exports. Furthermore, there are many other trade routes in the region but such trade routes cannot be discussed here.
Now moving toward major competitors: broadly speaking, there are three major competitors in the region: the People’s Republic of China, the United States of America, and the Republic of India. China is one of the greatest and fastest-growing economies in the world. It has long-term economic plans in the region and to maintain its hegemonic status in the region, China has adopted a “string of pearls” strategy through the BRI project. Through this policy, China will build different seaports across the region to connect the whole region with China and China with the rest of the world. On the other hand, India has adopted the Diamond Necklace policy; through this policy, India is likely to build different seaports and naval bases in Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, and Seychelles to maintain its regional hegemonic status in the future. And the most important factor, the United States of America, has its own Indo-Pacific strategy. The United States desires, according to its Indo-Pacific strategy, as Mr. Biden said at the Quad Leader Summit on September 24, 2021, “The future of each of our nations and indeed the world depends on a free and open Indo-Pacific enduring and flourishing in the decade ahead.” Thus, the USA keeps checks on the region as Mr. Biden said, “We will focus on every corner of the region, from North East Asia and South East Asia to South Asia and Oceania, including the Pacific Islands.”
The question now is how the US will maintain control over the region. The answer is simple: Quad. The Quad was initially not as important as it is today. During Donald Trump’s presidency, Quad became more effective and became more active when the world saw the rapidly growing position of China and its growing influence in the region. To contain China, the United States of America increased the role of the Quad in the region. Recently, Mr. Biden paid a visit to Japan to attend the high-profile meeting of the Quad in Tokyo. Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese of Australia, Narendra Modi of India, Fumio Kishida of Japan, and Joe Biden of the United States met and provided the Quad countries with a new role. The main topics of discussion included the engagement of Europe in the region, collaboration on cyber security, and most importantly, the Indo-Pacific partnership for maritime domain awareness. As part of this partnership, the Quad States will work with other Indo-Pacific countries to contain China. On the other hand, China sees the Quad as an Asian NATO and China condemns it on all forums.
By concluding the arguments, it has been demonstrated that the region is highly competitive, and great power rivalry in the region may lead to a third world war, but such a war will be nuclear, affecting the entire planet. So, peaceful resolution of problems in the region is essential, and such resolution must be accomplished by mutual participation of all stakeholders and non-militarization of the region. As a result, in the multi-polar world order age, no state should act alone or bilaterally, but rather each state must act in accordance with well-established rules of international law.
