China Threat Will Unify Indo-Pacific Region post-India COVID Crisis, Experts Say

Royal Australian Navy Collins Class Submarines joined in formation by United States Navy Submarine USS Santa Fe in the West Australian Exercise Area in February 2019. Courtesy of LSIS Richard Cordell/Department of Defense

Experts said that U.S. support and China’s behavior during the current Indian COVID crisis would make the security alliance of the Quad (U.S., Australia, Japan, and India) more robust.

Although unnamed in the March Quad summit (The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) joint statement, the China threat would bind the geopolitical union in the long run. Political factors, next year and beyond, drive the long-term regional outlook more than how the Indian government is handling COVID now.