The Quad Is Expanding Beyond Naval Military Exercises And China Is Watching

The Quad, or the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, includes four major, democratic economies: the United States, Japan, India and Australia. Over the years, the Quad has been mistakenly called the “Asian NATO”, especially when it comes to security concerns surrounding another major power in the region – China. The Quad countries have collaborated in areas ranging from health and infrastructure development to military exercises—notably the naval war games Exercise Malabar, which have become a permanent feature of the Quad.
“Because it doesn’t have a specific mandate, they can make economics or even global warming part of the Quad’s mandate,” said Ted Kemp, CNBC International’s digital director and author of a game-theoretic project on the future of the Quad . This includes an effective counterweight to China’s dominance in the Indo-Pacific region.
“What the Quad countries are concerned about individually and collectively is China’s behavior,” Tanvi Madan, director of The India Project at the Brookings Institution, told CNBC. “The idea is to provide choice, stability and bring resources to the area that wouldn’t otherwise be available.” Watch the video above to learn more about the Quad’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region.