The Quad: From Loose Coordination Toward an Alliance

Abstract

2021 was a watershed year for the US, Japan, India, and Australia vis-à-vis their Quadrilateral Cooperation mechanism, which successfully transitioned from a loose coordinating body to a grouping of allied actors. Reviewing the historical development of the Quad, three distinct phases can be identified: the conceptual stage, the strategy development stage, and the third phase of evolution toward an alliance. During the first two phases, the Quad was not more than a loose coordinating structure, but in the last phase, it started to take on the characteristics of an alliance-like body. The primary reason we can conclude that it has evolved into an alliance body is that the organization has started to mold behavioral norms, and it further aims to establish a monopoly over the provision of norms in the Indo-Pacific region. Three factors have played a role in driving the US, Japan, India, and Australia to build the Quad into an alliance body: first is the pursuit of general interests; second is the global situation brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on their relations; third is the formation of a shared objective. These three factors combined worked to shape the Quad into an alliance. As the Quad primarily targets China, its emergence as an alliance will have impacts on China’s security environment that cannot be ignored. In response, China should implement its “neighborhood first” strategy, promote the [Formula: see text] Leader’s Summit on Mutual Respect with its neighboring countries, and advance the comprehensive deepening of economic cooperation between China and ASEAN. These steps can help China respond to the rapidly changing Indo-Pacific geo-political situation.