17/07/2020 - International Relations

KEY POINTS

·         The Quad, or the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, involves besides Japan, the US, Australia and India, all of which see an increasingly economically and militarily powerful China flexing its muscle in the region and beyond. They want to keep the sea lanes from the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific free.

·         In 1947, in the aftermath of the Second World War, the UK and France signed a Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistance to ward off any attack by Germany or the Soviet Union. A year later, this alliance was opened to Benelux and it became the Brussels Treaty Organization.

·         If indeed the US wants to create an alliance to counter, if not take on, China, it must first work to wean away Asian nations from dependence on China by, perhaps, sharing technology, shifting its supply chains out of China to other destinations, and opening its market to other nations.

·         And it is necessary for Japan and Australia, with their technology advantage, to aid in this initiative. India, too, must help in the areas it has an edge such as IT/ITeS. Once the economic front is secure, Asian nations may feel more confident about the alliance and its leadership.

·         The Quad can even consider taking over the Indo-Japanese Africa Asia Growth Corridor (AAGC). This is a multi-pronged initiative to enhance capacity and skills, infrastructure and development projects, and people-to-people partnership.

·         And, only if the Quad members act in concert and with a purpose will Beijing take them seriously. As will the ASEAN, which wields considerable influence in the region. The Association of South-East Asian Nations will need to be roped in if the alliance is to become a reality first, and a force multiplier subsequently, in the shape of a NATO-like body.

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