Context:
Recently, India has been invited to join the multilateral alliance Squad to prevent China’s influence in the South China Sea.
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The Philippines seeks collaboration with India and South Korea amid rising concerns over China’s military actions and artificial islands in the area.
The Philippines’ request to India comes after China conducted live-fire naval drills in international waters in the Tasman Sea, as India also has similar challenges with China.
- Tasman Sea is located between the southeastern coast of Australia and Tasmania on the west and New Zealand on the east.
The military chief of the Philippines said that the need for collaboration between “like-minded nations” to exchange intelligence and hold joint military exercises are required to counter China’s dominance in the South China Sea.
The artificial islands built by China in the South China Sea are also a big threat in the region as China could control trade routes or attack Taiwan.
SQUAD Alliance
- The Squad is an informal alliance formed in 2024 with countries such as Australia, Japan, the Philippines and the United States.
- This grouping has been named ‘Squad’ by Pentagon officials.
- The alliance aims to bolster their military interoperability, conduct additional joint patrols and drills, and improve intelligence and maritime security cooperation.
- The defence forces of this alliance have conducted joint maritime activities in the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines in the South China Sea.
- Unlike the QUAD alliance, the ‘Squad’ apparently aims to have a more unified internal coherence and a clear, shared strategic vision.
- Currently, India is a part of Quad, an alliance of the US, Japan, and Australia, which informally tries to keep a check on China’s dominance in the Indo-Pacific region.
Significance of the Squad Alliance
- Alliance will further entangle the web of geopolitical dynamics in the Indo-Pacific, with significant implications for regional stability and international relations.