ISAS South Asia Scan

India’s invitation to Australia to particiapte in the 2020 Malabar Naval Exercise amidst China’s continuing aggression in eastern Ladakh marked an important moment in the geopolitics of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) comprising India, the United States, Japan and Australia. The South Asia Scan argues that what has essentially encouraged India to become enthusiastic towards the revived Quad is the emergence of a militarised China threatening its territorial interests. It has recognised that the Quad’s formalisation is likely to have a deterrent effect on China.
  
This Scan recommends that the four countries should be proactive in making the Quad an institutionalised mechanism for Indo-Pacific security cooperation. One of its important agendas is to focus on preserving and protecting the democratic values of like-minded countries in the Indo-Pacific without interfering or allowing others to interfere in their domestic politics.