Quad Forms as a Counter Against the Rising China Influence

The slow and quiet rise of China in Asia has become more evident during these past years.

Its aggressive increase in the region's influence made the superpowers and other countries from the other side of the world wary. It took precautionary measures hoping to counter or stop China's modest goal to become a world power.

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The Quad or the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue is made up of the United States, Japan, Australia, and India, also coined as the "Asian version of NATO," to contain China's impending rise.

The recently held biggest naval drills of the four-member countries showed its seriousness to counter China's military influence in the Asian region, which China condemned as the informal grouping would be a risk to regional stability.

Quad's beginnings can be traced back to 2007, which envisioned maintaining peace in the Indo-Pacific region by having joint maritime exercises after disbanding within a month due to China's contradiction until it was revived just recently.

It was restored because of China's aggressive rise over the past years in the region and India as the one to back out of the alliance, then followed by Australia came back as they again conducted the naval exercises.

With the rule of Xi Jinping, China's most powerful leader next to Mao Zedong, China buffed its military might in the region, taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to further its claim within the disputed parts of South China Sea using its decade-old nine-dash line.

Its aggressive advance can be proven with its territorial dispute within Japan and the United States accusing it of allegedly conducting military incursions in the disputed waters. India and China's tension also reached its boiling point as the clashes between troops from both sides left 20 Indian soldiers wounded.

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However, according to the experts, strengthened deterrence of China's advance is highly unlikely from these four states, as they shared no interests in China's rise. China is an important business and trading partner both with Japan and Australia, while India is still maintaining its stance and is unlikely to engage in tensions that might result in violence in the South China Sea, which is different from the United States who treats the disputed water as a vital point of its strategic policies against China and is evidently in affected the relations between the two states over the years.

Other countries within the disputed waters also refused or were hesitant to conduct talks or accept offers from the United States in fear of being caught between the rival clash of two superpowers.

It is also challenging to counter China's multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative. However, the Quad should face and forward a counter-proposal of China's economic, diplomatic policy.

Doing so will also show to other states that it is not only a military and security counterweight against the former's aggressive advance. Experts agree that it is imperative to the Quad to rally allies to show China that it needs to abide by the international rules if it wants to become a global power.

However, China's role in the ongoing global pandemic strengthens the four members' resolve to counter China's aggressive rise in the region as shown by the four countries' foreign ministers conducting a meeting in India amidst the global pandemic.

The alliance also faces an additional problem regarding Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's resignation and the United States Presidential-elect Joe Biden plans. Whether it will be a benefit or not to the alliance is for the future of the four member-states to negotiate about.