ISAS South Asia Discussion Papers

The debate over the approach to address a rising China has been ongoing since the early years of the post-Cold War era. Recent sentiments were that China could be integrated into the international liberal order and that its rise would be peaceful. However, Beijing’s increasingly belligerent activities in the past decade have called these assumptions into question. Most visibly, perhaps, it has brought the Indo-Pacific’s four leading democracies into the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) coalition. A key concern for the Quad has been the restructuring of Indo-Pacific’s naval balance of maritime power. With its enormous resources, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is set to emerge at the helm of this new structure. 

This issue of the South Asia Discussion Papers  brings together expert analyses from across the Quad countries to analyse its progress thus far, identifies gaps in the approach of the Quad members and points out future challenges. The publication also explores the doctrinal evolution of the Quad navies considering the PLAN’s growing threat, its efforts to rationalise a joint approach and their understanding of international maritime law.