While containment of China is expected to be the dominant theme of this year’s Security Quadrilateral Dialogue, nations will also seek to formalize the quadrilateral, to NATO or the EU.
The four members of the Quad have an ongoing dispute with China.
Tensions between the US and China have escalated over issues such as the coronavirus, trade, technology, Hong Kong, Taiwan and human rights.
India and China are locked in a tense military standoff in eastern Ladakh with no sign of relief despite several rounds of talks. Relations between Australia and China have also deteriorated in recent months.
Meanwhile, Japan is concerned about China’s claim on the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, called Diaoyu in China, in the East China Sea. Japan also views China’s growing military activity as a security threat.
The meeting of the four nations is also likely to adopt cooperation in 5G and 5G plus technologies, given the Chinese dominance in the segment.
The United States has made clear that the focus will be on China as its “tactics, aggression and coercion increase in the region.”
The focus on China was underlined by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo when he accused Beijing of “threatening the global economy and endangering the global environment.”
Meanwhile, Canada may also be looking to become part of the Quad “to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
Canada, which has increased its interaction with India in recent months, also sent a warship across the Taiwan Strait on Saturday from the South China Sea (SCS), a move meant to send a clear message to Beijing that claim territorial rights over both. Taiwan and the SCS.
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