Indo-Pacific Diplomacy, the Quad and Beyond: Democratic Coalition in the Era of U.S.–China Global Competition

The rise of China and its competition with the United States are the most important geopolitical factors in the twenty-first century. No country in the world, especially in the Indo-Pacific region, can be distant from the two superpowers’ competitive coexistence or avoid considering how to deal with this issue. FOIP, the Indo-Pacific, and the Quad are outcomes of this global trend. Although the United States, Japan, India, Australia, ASEAN, and Europe have their agendas and interests, there are many areas of overlap regarding China. The key to its successful coordination is the U.S.’s continued commitment in the region, which needs to be supported by each country’s efforts for mutually complementary cooperation. Allies and partners of the United States are likely to form multi-layered coalitions, in which FOIP’s vision and the Quad framework have a great potential to play a central role. Key issues will be military and security, technology, supply chain, governance, and economic development assistance. Japan is expected to play the leading role for this cooperation, considering its historically solid alliance with the U.S., broad and stable partnership with India, Australia and Southeast Asian countries as well as long-term experience of managing relations with China.