The Quad and the South China Sea: Making Waves Without Taking Action

030 – 21 March 2024 The authors' views are their own and do not represent the official position of the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies of the S. [...] 030/2024 dated 21 March 2024 The Quad and the South China Sea: Making Waves Without Taking Action John Bradford and Ralf Emmers SYNOPSIS The Australia-India-Japan-United States partnership known as the Quad makes frequent statements regarding the East and South China Sea and the partners’ shared commitment to bolstering the rules-based maritime order. [...] In fact, there are only two examples of concrete Quad activities in the maritime domain: the Malabar naval exercise and the creation of the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA). [...] The 24th Malabar naval exercise, held in 2020, involved the four Quad countries' navies and was conducted in two phases: in the Bay of Bengal and in the Arabian Sea. [...] Yet, despite the Quad's annual Malabar naval exercises and the creation of the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA), the Quad has accomplished very little in the maritime domain, especially regarding the South China Sea disputes.