NATIONAL DEFENCE UNIVERSITY, ISLAMABAD

Quadrateral Security Dialogue (Quad)

Major powers competition in Indo-Pacific

NDU-BS-17/F-446
Project
Abstract

The changing dynamics of the geopolitics in Indo-Pacific has gotten the attention of multiple actors to
project their sphere of influence. This situation has created a competition among the major powers
especially US and China for dominance. U.S has been setting the rules for the region since the end of the
Cold war through its military presence and its allies in the region. With the growing influence of China
politically and economically through its mega project of the Belt and Road Initiative, U.S has been
feeling that its strategic position in the region is under threat. In National Security Strategy 2018, Trump
administration has declared China as a competitor and a threat to the established Liberal World order.
To counter these challenges, Trump has forged its regional alliances and created a Quadrateral security
dialogue (Quad) in order to keep China in check and preserve its interests in the region. But the
mishandling of the group and following the doctrine of “America first”, Trump is losing the trust of the
allies and hence paving the way for China to get the maximum opportunity to bypass the United States
and maximize its sphere of influence. As the Quad grouping is recent and Trump administration is getting
more assertive on China as the diplomatic tensions between the two countries are getting tense, the future
prospect will be determined over the dominance of the Indo-Pacific region.

Introduction

The dynamics of contemporary international politics have changed and so are the world power centers.
The cold war era has come to an end some two decades ago and U.S led unipolar world order is also
diminishing. With China’s rapid economic growth, new actors in the region have emerged with high
ambitions and great potentials. As the 20 th century was called American century, it can rightly be claimed
that the 21st century is Asian century. Senior Research fellow of National University of Singapore wrote
the book named “the Future is Asian” stated that Asia is to lead the 21 st century as it has well-established
Asian tigers like Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea and rising new economic super
powers; India and China and also newer economies of Southeast Asia. The dynamic, technological
innovation and entrepreneurial spirit in the region make it important and most favorable place for world
economies to be invested into it.

The Asian economic zone comprises of Arabian Peninsula and Turkey in the west and Japan and New
Zealand in the east, Russia in the north and Australia in the South, represents almost 50 percent of the
global GDP and two-thirds of global economic growth1. China’s economic rise and its ambitious plans to
connect the region through economic well being have changed geopolitical dynamics of the region. China
has entrenched its strong footholds through projects like Silk Road Economic Belt and 21 st Century
Maritime Silk Rode together called Belt and Road initiative through which China is seeking to be the
crucial trading partner for all the major states in the region and it is quite successful in doing so. Besides,
China is taking active interests in to lead the economic partnerships of the region. These moves are not
going unchallenged by other interesting actors of the region like that of USA and India to some extent.

United State has maintained its active presence in the region since the time of cold war era. The U.S
Pacific Command has remained active in the region for maintaining peace by securing SLOCs and

1
Parag Khanna, “Why we are living in the Asian century”, World Economic Forum, March 08, 2019.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/03/why-were-living-in-the-asian-century
providing security to its allies in the region. That pro-activeness has somehow decreased in post-cold war
era when USA was busy dealing with war on terrorism. But increasing influence of China in the region
has attracted US’ attention once again. Obama administration declared that ‘”not the Middle East but Asia
is the Future2” and he issued the policy of “Rebalancing to Asia” in his tenure while Trump, under his
administration has been working on “enhancing quadriteral cooperation (the Quad) in the Indo-Pacific”
region to balance China’s rapid rise. Analysts argue that “great game” in the Indian Ocean is going on and
more and more global players are getting involved.

Research Questions

The paper will answer the following questions:

1. Given the changing dynamics of the geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific region, which are the new
actors that are competing for the dominance in the region?
2. Which are the common interests that have brought Quad members (United States, Japan, India,
and Australia) on the same page?
3. Having experienced one time failure in 2008, what are the challenges which Quad 2.0 has to face
in order to prevent it to collapse again?

Tug Of War in the Region

The Asia-Pacific has the half of the world population

and it hosts world’s most dynamic trade and energy
routes. The region is key engine for the global economy
which runs trade of $39 trillion along its routes. It can
rightly be claimed that Asia-pacific region is the
backbone of world economy. Having strong foothold
and huge influence would be the first priority of any
major power; that is what happening in the region. Many
analysts have predicted the importance of the region for
great powers, one of them is Robert Kaplan who stated
very early that “United States will prioritize the Asia-
Pacific and Indian Ocean as the two important regions in the late 2010s and beyond 3”. United States has
maintained its presence in the region since long, in Obama administration, Deputy National Security
advisor to Vice President Joseph Biden Said in a Conference “The United States has long been a Pacific
power, whose interests are inextricably linked with Asia’s economic, security, and political order 4". Then
Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton wrote an Article in Foreign Policy in 2011, in which she highlighted
the geo-economic and geostrategic importance of Asia Pacific region for America while stating that “the

2
Muhammad Saeed, “From the Asia-Pacific to the Indo-Pacific”, World Centre Publishing Cooperation and Shanghai Institutes
for International Studies.
https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/pdf/10.1142/S2377740017500324
3
Athena Goal and Niharika, “India and China in the Indian Ocean Region,” in Bimal N. Patel, Aruna Kumar Malik, and William
Nunes, Indian Ocean and Maritime Security: Competition, Cooperation and Threat (London: Taylor & Francis, 2016), p. 53.
4
“The importance of the Asia-Pacific region”, Editorials, September 24, 2012.
https://editorials.voa.gov/a/the-importance-of-the-asia-pacific-region/1514099.html
future of politics will be decided in Asia, not Afghanistan or Iraq, and the United States will be right at
the center of the action5”.

While United States was striving to increase its footprints in the region, China is also actively engaging in
regional affairs. It has launched massive project of BRI. Its major component is 21 st Century Maritime
Silk Road which connects Asian economies to Europe’s and African economy. It passes through major
chock points along regional sea lines of communications (SLOCs). Their security is must. In order to
secure its trade routes and consolidate its influence in the region, China is increasing its Defence budget
over the past two decades. Moreover, China’s energy consumption has also increased since the country
has undergone the strategy of “going abroad” since 1990s. It has surpassed US in energy consumption
since 2010. Therefore, it’s imperative for China to ensure the security of trade lines from where it imports
its oil. Most of its imports come from Middle East and North Africa through Indian Ocean, so China is
increasingly investing in new ports in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. Analysts suggest
that China’s efforts are not only bound to economic prosperity but it also trying to further its strategic
influence as well. In 2015, China’s National Defence White Paper, China’s military strategy revealed that
China will focus on securing overseas interests by enhancing its military power at some strategic
locations; like they did in Djibouti by establishing Logistic base over there. Analysts suggest that this way
China will strengthen its strategic position in the region.

The players of the tug of war for increasing influence in the region are not only U.S and India but other
actors are also getting involved in recent times. Various countries have shifted their policy goals and
paying growing attention in the region. After US and China, India is engaging with more countries of
Pacific by its “Act East” Policy. For posing their regional supremacy, they claim Indian Ocean as “India’s
Ocean”. Likewise Japan trying to seek “free and open” Asia Pacific strategy and for that it is also
collaborating with India under the idea of “confluence of the two states”. And Indonesia is also following
its policy of “Global Maritime Axis” in order to actively participate in the regional geopolitics. Indeed,
these regional and also other extraterritorial powers have been involved in a tug of war in Indo-Pacific
region.

America’s Indo-Pacific Strategy

With its immense potential and key strategic value, Asia-Pacific has been the center of major powers’ key
policies. With other regional powers, United States has been seen actively involved in the region since
Obama administration. Hillary Clinton in her article ‘America’s Pacific Century’ has elaborated the
importance of Asia-Pacific for America. She went on saying that “Harnessing Asia’s growth and
dynamism is central to American economic and strategic interests and a key priority for President Obama.
Open markets in Asia provide the United States with unprecedented opportunities for investment, trade,
and access to cutting-edge technology 6”. She further said that “Strategically, maintaining peace and
security across the Asia-Pacific is increasingly crucial to global progress, whether through defending
freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, countering the proliferation efforts of North Korea, or

5
Hillary Clinton, “America’s Pacific Century”, Foreign Policy, October 11, 2011.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/10/11/americas-pacific-century/
6
Hillary Clinton, “America’s Pacific Century”, Foreign Policy, October 11, 2011.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/10/11/americas-pacific-century/
ensuring transparency in the military activities of the region’s key players 7”. Following the Obama
administration, newly elected President Trump also paid great attention to entrench America’s footprints
in the region by collaborating with the regional allies and forging their relationships in cooperating on
mutual grounds. He made US engagement in the Indo-Pacific region a top priority of his administration.
He put forward “the Indo-Pacific Strategy” and propagated the idea of ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’.

Birth and rebirth of Quad

The forum of Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad)

was first initiated by Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
in 2007 with the help of US Vice President Dick
Cheney, Prime Minister John Howard of Australia and
Manmohan Singh of India. The forum was established to
enhance diplomatic and military cooperation in the
region. But it could not sustain any longer as Australia
withdrew in 2008 when Prime Minister Kavin Rudd took
the Office. Other than that in late 2007 more Beijing-
friendly Prime Minister replaced Abe and the Quad
forum could not yield the intended outcomes.

In 2017, at the ASEAN East Asia Summit, all four former members rejoined in negotiation to revive the
Quad alliance. Analysts state that the need to revive the forum is the reaction to more assertive China
under Xi Jinping. Unfolding of the events in East and South China Seas and the issues related to
economic and geostrategic implication of Belt and Road Initiative are seen as the key challenge to
existing order. In order to balance the growing influence of China in the region, these like-minded
democracies have come together to formulate the platform from where all of them can secure their
regional interests. The aim of this initiative is to ensure “a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-
Pacific region”.

Common Interests of QUAD members

As the geopolitical dynamics of the region are changing, so are the regional players and their interests are
being shifted in the area. These four countries share common interest regarding the dominance and
maintenance of the liberal rule-based order in the region. Other than that, the following interests are
drawing the four countries together.

Maintaining the stable balance of Power

The dominant power in the region gains the power to influence the regional politics and possess the
potential to have a greater sphere of influence. They set the rules which serve their interests. So, the first
and foremost interest of Quad countries is to balance any rising dominating power in the region, in case of
Indo-Pacific, it is certainly China. China is the largest economy of this region with having the largest
market of some 1.4bn people. Its growing engagement with regional states with the inception of the BRI
7
Hillary Clinton, “America’s Pacific Century”, Foreign Policy, October 11, 2011.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/10/11/americas-pacific-century/
gave China the upper hand over all states. China is not only growing its economic stature but it has
increased its military expenditure. So the allies of China in the Indo-Pacific are not gaining economic
opportunities but they are also being provided by military aid from China which is strengthen China’s
position in the region and replacing America so greater extent. In the response, US led Quad is trying to
maintain stable balance of power by strengthening cooperation with regional allies to prevent any
regional power from becoming dominant.

Maintaining open and free maritime order in Indo-Pacific

All four countries are having enormous trade through the sea lines of Indo-Pacific, so maintaining a
maritime order based on the free and open movement of goods and services across the world’s oceans is
one of the top priorities of all member states. Maintaining the same rule in Indo-Pacific is what drives
Quad countries to forge their relationship in order to counter any inconvenience from Chinese side. If
China’s historical claims of Nine-dash lines are imposed according to the will of China, this will inflict
the access of these countries to what is now International waters under International law. If this claim of
China is to be practiced, this will not only affect the trade but US’ military support to its regional allies
and the balancing role which it is trying to project. Currently, United States is frequently patrolling in
South China Sea for defending the principle and to show its commitment to its allies and partners.

Maintaining rule-based economic order

The rule-based economic order is consist of free trade, open investment, the rule of law, open competitive
tendering and standard of good governance which continuously benefiting all. For Quad members,
China’s BRI is not only the mutually beneficial connectivity and development mega project as China
claims to be, but it is also the mean to sphere China’ strategic influence in the region and undermining
existing economic order. They claim that BRI related projects are structured to benefit Chinese state-
owned and private firms, which is creating a separate and closed economic system which is keeping
China at its centre. China is also accused of following the policy of ‘dept-trap’ diplomacy which enables
China to achieve broader political and strategic goals by providing countries infrastructure lending for
strategically important projects with an inability to repay.

Supporting and strengthening Liberal democratic governance

As all countries themselves are democratic, the major aim of Quad is to support and strengthen Liberal
democratic governance in the Indo-Pacific region. If the region becomes inhospitable to liberal
democratic values, it will not support the principles of a free and open international order. In this effort,
America has long been serving this cause of preserving democratic values over there. For that US has
always tried to deter any outbreak of conflict in Taiwan Strait and Korean Peninsula and it has been a
great supporter of maintenance of democratic stature of both South Korea and Taiwan. In recent years, a
notable democratic decline was observed in countries like Philippine, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and
Maldives, this could make these countries more vulnerable for Chinese influence and that scenario is a
cause of concern for Quad countries8.

8
Lavina Lee, “Assessing the Quad: prospects and limitations of Quadrateral cooperation for the advancing Australia’s interests”,
Lowy Institute, May 19, 2020.
https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/assessing-quad-prospects-and-limitations-quadrilateral-cooperation-advancing-
australia
India in Quad

All four countries share common interests which keep them bind together, but ironically, the formation of
the Quad in 2007 was of informal nature and all countries were trying to posture QUAD’s role as a
coordinating regional economic and development assistant but not a fully formal institution. The revival
of the group is similar in nature than the previous; an informal dialogue group. Countering China however
is the top priority of the group. The first attempt of Quad was not fruitful as than Prime Minister of
Australia Kevin Rudd withdrew from the alliance considering the antagonistic posture of the group is
needless. But today the more assertive posture of Chinese foreign policy especially in the region has bring
Australia all in and so are United States and Japan. India’s position in the group has remained that of less
committed.

India and China has been sharing very good economic

relations in recent times. Though the relations got
worsened in the months long standoff at Doklam
plateau in 2017, which analysts suggest pushed India to
re-engage the Quad at first place, but the Wuhan
Summit in 2018 has eased the tensions between the two
to a greater extent. Both have agreed to work together
on multiple projects. In Shangri-La Dialogue 2018,
Prime Minister Narindra Modi gave the Keynote
address in which he talked very high about India-China
relations while completely negating Quad’s stance against Chinese assertive and expansionists policies in
the region. He mentioned that “In April, a two-day informal summit with President Xi helped us cement
our understanding that strong and stable relations between our two nations are an important factor for
global peace and progress. I firmly believe that Asia and the world will have a better future when India
and China work together in trust and confidence, sensitive to each other's interests 9. His remarks
regarding China contrasted with U.S Defence Secretary James Mattis’s speech which extensively
criticized China’s actions10. Besides, the key theme of Modi’s speech was that ASEAN should be central
to Indo-Pacific which analysts suggest that it implicitly means than not the Quad or any single country.

India is also heavily dependent on Russia for military logistic and spear part other than that they are also
sharing a good relation with Russia. So, it makes very difficult for India to balance its relations with
China led SCO and American led Quad. But the recent events have changed a lot. The deadliest border
standoff at Galwan valley, where India as lost 20 soldiers, has pushed India to exert more aggressive
stance against China. India has been very vocal against China since the standoff and it has banned 59
Chinese apps in India11.

United States, Japan and Australia in Quad

9
“17th Asia Secuity Summit, the IISS Shanghri-la Dialogue”, International Institute for Strategic Studies, June 1, 2018.
file:///C:/Users/mr%20ali/Downloads/Narendra%20Modi%20SLD18.pdf
10
Derek Grossman, “India is the weakest link in the Quad”, Foreign Policy, July 23, 2018.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/07/23/india-is-the-weakest-link-in-the-quad/
11
Vaibhav Kullashri, “Quad gruping and India’s role in it”, The Kootneeti, July 8, 2020
https://thekootneeti.in/2020/07/08/quad-grouping-and-indias-role-in-it/
United State has been leading the Quadrateral dialogue since the very start. State Secretary Mike Pompeo
said after the first meeting conducted by the Senior officials in September 2019 that “We’ve reconvened
‘the Quad’ – the security talks between Japan, Australia, India and the United States that had been
dormant for nine years, this will prove very important in the efforts ahead, ensuring that China retains
only its proper place in the world 12”. It was Trump administration’s top priority to keep the Indo-Pacific
region “free and open”, for that America’s presence in Quad is understandable and very much supportive
for other Quad member countries. Other than that America is also fostering its bilateral and multilateral
alliances with the countries of this region which is paving the way for America to pursue its objective of
maintiang its dominance in the region against rising China.

Australia on the other hand has also been playing its role in
the Quad as a long established democracy in the region.
Besides, it shares a very good relation with U.S. After the
meeting of the senior officials of Quad in last year,
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that Quad is
“an important forum for Australia and the region that
complements the role of Asean and Asean-led architecture. It
is a key forum for exchanging views on challenges facing the
region, including taking forward practical cooperation on
maritime, terrorism and cyber issues 13”. He did not however
mention the role of China in that speech. Because China is Australia’s strategic partner Australia seems
reluctant to be shown assertive on China. It was this soft posture of Australia regarding China in 2007
which failed the first Quadrateral dialogue in 2008. In recent times too, the other members of Quad are
concerned regarding Australia’s good ties with China. PM Morrison held security talks with Trump last
year where he said that Australia could “maintain our unique relationships with the U.S., our most
important ally, and China, our comprehensive strategic partner, in good order by rejecting the binary
narrative of their strategic competition and instead valuing and nurturing the un-conflicted benefit of our
close association14”. Both China and Australia are actively engaged economically and politically and
China is Australia’s largest trading partner. These cordial relations between the two countries can create
tension once again for Quad but if China kept dominating its aggressive posture in the region the situation
might change.

Being a long term ally of America in Asia-Pacific and its proximity to the region’s long-term geopolitical
challenge: rise of China, have compelled Japan to formulate strategy to secure its position in the region.
Also, Japan is one of the great powers of the region and the third economy of the world. In this regard,
Japan put forward the foundational strategic framework “Securing Diamond 15” which laid the foundation
12
Ankit Panda, “US, India, Australia, Japan ‘Quad’ holds Senir officials meeting in Bangkok”, The Diplomat, November 5, 2019.
https://thediplomat.com/2019/11/us-india-australia-japan-quad-holds-senior-officials-meeting-in-bangkok/
13
Jason Scott, “Australia vows to cement Quad with India, US, Japan as ‘anti-China’ group gets new life”, The Print, October 3,
2019.
https://theprint.in/world/australia-vows-to-cement-quad-with-india-us-japan-as-anti-china-group-gets-new-life/300822/
14
Jason Scott, “Australia vows to cement Quad with India, US, Japan as ‘anti-China’ group gets new life”, The Print, October 3,
2019.
https://theprint.in/world/australia-vows-to-cement-quad-with-india-us-japan-as-anti-china-group-gets-new-life/300822/
15
Shinzo Abe, “Asia’s Democratic Security Diamond”, Project Syndicate, December 27, 2012.
https://www.project-syndicate.org/onpoint/a-strategic-alliance-for-japan-and-india-by-shinzo-abe?
language=english&barrier=accesspaylog
for Quadrateral dialogue; first purposed by Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007 and its revival in
2017. Japan has been maintaining good relations with India. In 2007, Abe spoke in front of Indian
parliament and share his visions about Indo-Pacific region. He mentioned ‘the confluence of the two seas’
seeking to elongate the relation between and India and Japan in maritime domain. Being the important
member of Quad, Japan can yield myriad opportunities for itself by fostering its relations with U.S and
deepening its security ties with Australia and India.

Bumpy road ahead for Quad

Since the President of U.S, Pm of Japan, PM of Australia and PM of India met after the ASEAN meeting
in Manila in 2017, analysts have taken pens to write what the revival of Quad means for the future of
Indo-Pacific. The four members are bind by shared aims to prevent China dominating the region but there
are divergent points too in members’ relative interests that can create hurdles for the group to achieve
their goal. First and foremost in this regard is the difference of opinion of each member regarding the role
of Quad in the region. While US and Japan seem more committed with the concept, Australia and India
are reluctant to compromise their relationship with China. This way the Quad may repeat the history of
failure of the group on the question of China.

Most of the Southeast Asian countries are in the list

of booming economies of 21st century. They have
substantially grown economically since the late 20 th
century and today are seeking new opportunities.
They would prefer to enhance their relations with the
Washington if given chance but ironically those
opportunities are limited for Southeast Asian states
and Beijing keeps knocking the door. The Obama
administration’s “Pivot to Asia” established Trans
Pacific Partnership Treaty (TPP) which paved the way for the states from this region to forge their
partnership with the United States. President Trump began his presidency by abrogating the treaty which
took years to finalize and ensure U.S’ political and economic cornerstone to preserve U.S led liberal order
in Asia. The withdrawal from the treaty by Trump administration has caused distrust from these countries
to America. This too drags these countries to come closer to China which is near to them and offering
substantial opportunities to them. The western analysts call it ‘China’s economic diplomacy’ which China
is using by offering massive financial assistance to draw lots of countries closer to it 16.

Secondly, Trump’s moves are rupturing relations with its key allies of the region by deriding them as
“free-riders”. Last year, he reportedly demanded South Korea to pay five-fold more for the troops
stationed over there. Reports are circling that he is going to ask the same from Tokyo in this year’s
security negotiations17. Both courtiers however contribute a lot for U.S standing influence in the region
for decades. South Korea has paid 92% of the cost for building Camp Humphreys which is the largest
16
Geoffery Garrett, “hy U.S. is losing grounds to China in Asia”, Wharton, May 30, 2017.
https://magazine.wharton.upenn.edu/digital/why-us-is-losing-ground-to-china-in-asia/
17
Bruce Klinger, Jung H. Pak and Sue Mi Terry, “Trump shakedowns are threatening two key US alliances in Asia” Brookings,
December 18, 2019.
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2019/12/18/trump-shakedowns-are-threatening-two-key-u-s-alliances-in-
asia/
U.S military base on foreign soil. Other than that, Seoul has purchased $13 billion in arms from the U.S.
it has also militarily participated in every conflict since the Korean War and has sent its forces for
fighting alongside the United States. Japan on the hand has also been true friend to America in the region
since World War II and it too purchases 90% of its weapons and defense system from U.S.

Cost-sharing negotiations are always contentious, but the given situations demand from America not to
strangle relations from its friends over money. If the negotiation collapse and America would reduce its
troops this would cause Washington to raise doubts in its allies for the continuing viability of the United
States as an ally. The situation would clearly go in favor of Beijing to reduce U.S influence in the region.
Japan is one of the key allies of United States in the region and member in Quad, if Trump administration
continues following this attitude with its allies; he will surely lose grounds to China.

Conclusion

United States has been enjoying the status of sole super power of the world since the end of the Cold war.
It has maintained its power by entrenching its political, economic and military influence in its allied
countries and ensured its presence in pivotal areas of the globe by stationing its troops in the areas. Indo-
Pacific is one such region where United States has long been present to protect its SLOCs, and defending
its allies in the region. But in recent times, the role of sole super power is diminishing as other players are
seen growing their political and economic appearance in global arena. China is prominent in this regard.

National Security Strategy 2018 of Trump administration has declared China as the competitor and a
threat to Liberal world order; hence the administration has formulated the Indo-Pacific strategy to ensure
the safety of its interests in the region. The free and open Indo-Pacific strategy has led Washington to
draw its allies in the region to counter China and maintain the free and fair trading practice in the region.
Quad is the practical implication of the strategy.

China is actively working on its model of interconnectivity and strengthening win-win cooperation in the
region by launching its mega project of the Belt and Road Initiative. It does not only include the
Southeast Asian countries, but the countries of Central Asia as well as from the Europe are part of the
project. America does not buy the idea of China’s win-win cooperation through this project but it
perceives China’s move as the struggle to spread its area of influence. Trump administration has been
very tough on China in matters of trade, theft of intellectual property, South China Sea, Uyghur Muslims
and now the mishandling of the COVID-19.

But overall, Trump administration has done very less to get the trust of the allied countries. The Indo-
Pacific Strategy is perceived to be uncertain given the Trump administration’s abandoning of important
elements of the previous government’s ‘Rebalancing Act’ strategy for the region such as the withdrawal
from TPP and Trump administration’s doctrine of ‘America first’. The Indo-Pacific has become a new
power center for the global geopolitics and more players are getting involved in it to spread their sphere
of influence. Quad is such opportunity for regional powers to create the balance of power over there. But
the mishandling of the group by Trump administration cause growing doubts from U.S’ allies and
partners. Consequently, a power vacuum is being created in the favor of China which is uniformly
pushing forwards its BRI and other bilateral and multilateral projects to engage more countries with it and
tries to fill the vacuum with more advanced strategic position.