New Alliance Squad: America is reshaping its strategy in the Indo-Pacific amid rising tensions in the South China Sea and growing concerns over Taiwan. The US has outlined a new regional alliance against China with Japan, Australia and the Philippines. The alliance has reportedly been named 'Squad' or the new Quad. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held a series of meetings with his counterparts from the three countries in Hawaii last Thursday. The four countries held naval exercises this April and more are expected later this year. A strategic alliance called Quad already exists in the region with the US, Japan, India and Australia. In such a situation, what is the meaning of making a new quad and how different is it from the quad. Has America thrown India out?
Ashley Tallis of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said the old Quad's schedule was problematic due to upcoming elections, first in India and then in the United States, which led to some reductions. Its creation does not diminish the importance of the Quad, said a special assistant to George W Bush. This means that America has many arrows in its quiver to challenge China. It is very important. Tallis said mini-lateral alliances such as AUKUS, SQUAD and the US Japan Alliance would prove more important than the Quad in a military conflict with China. This is not to discredit the Quad. This just highlights a strategic fact.
Preparation to stop Beijing in South China Sea
Dhruv Jaishankar, executive director of the US-based Observer Research Foundation, said the squad was formed at a time when Beijing has repeatedly attacked Philippine supply ships in the South China Sea with water cannons. The ship BRP en route to deliver supplies to Philippine troops stationed in the Sierra Madre. China claims these areas as its own. Jaishankar said, this is where China is exerting the most pressure at the moment, even more than Taiwan. This is truly a test of the American alliance. A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry had earlier said that the water cannon firing was China's response to ships intruding without permission. China called it a violation of its sovereignty.
Therefore the new alliance is more important than the Quad
New Delhi was expected to convene the Quad summit in January this year, but it was postponed citing the busy schedule of the US President. Kent Calder, director of the Center for East Asian Studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, said that clearly the triangle of the US, Japan and Australia is much more important. But Lisa Curtis, director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, doesn't think so. He said that 'Squad' should not be seen as an alternative to 'Quad' but as its complement.
Curtis said that India is an important part of America's Indo-Pacific strategy. He said that in the event of any conflict or crisis in the Taiwan Strait or South China Sea, India will play an important role in monitoring the Indian Ocean region and the Malacca Strait. He said the difference between the two is the presence of resistance. Despite being a name associated with security dialogue, the Quad has stayed away from security issues. Joint statements issued after the last three summits by its leaders have included mention of peace and stability, but never counter-insurgency.