https://www.scmp.com/rss/522595/feed The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad): An informal strategic forum, the Quad is a diplomatic partnership between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States, focused on advancing a free, open, prosperous, and rules-based Indo-Pacific region. Originating from the 2004 tsunami response, its main areas of activity include maritime security, humanitarian assistance, health security, critical and emerging technologies, and climate change. The Quad fosters cooperation among its member... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Göktuğ Çalışkan Göktuğ Çalışkan When the United States and the Philippines opened this year’s Balikatan exercises, the message travelled far beyond the parade ground. More than 17,000 troops are taking part in drills set to run until May 8. What matters is where the drills unfold, who has joined and what kind of regional habit they are helping to normalise. Japan took part in its first Balitakan live-fire exercises. Australia, Canada, France and New Zealand were also active participants. Then the exercises moved closer to... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3352387/why-chinas-warning-over-military-blocs-finding-listeners-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3352387/why-chinas-warning-over-military-blocs-finding-listeners-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 21:30:05 +0000 Li Xing Li Xing Geopolitics, at its core, examines how geography shapes international politics, power distribution and security dynamics. One enduring idea is geographer Halford Mackinder’s “heartland” theory, which situates Eurasia as the central arena of global power competition. In 1904, Mackinder argued that the vast land mass of Europe and Asia – what he called the “world island” – contained a pivotal core, the “heartland”, rich in resources, population and strategic depth. His dictum – “Who rules Eastern... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3351015/why-us-led-security-alliances-asia-are-losing-coherence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3351015/why-us-led-security-alliances-asia-are-losing-coherence?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Apr 2026 21:30:08 +0000 C. Uday Bhaskar C. Uday Bhaskar For the India-China-US triangle, the new US-India trade deal, announced with Trumpian flourish on social media on Monday, has potentially significant economic, geopolitical and strategic implications. US President Donald Trump’s post, which came after a phone call with Narendra Modi, said the Indian prime minister had committed to “BUY AMERICAN”, including over US$500 billion of US products. It also said Modi had “agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3342263/why-new-us-india-trade-agreement-big-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3342263/why-new-us-india-trade-agreement-big-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Feb 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan US President Donald Trump is meeting US Ambassador to China David Perdue at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Friday, rounding off a day of diplomacy that began with a call with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The engagements come at a delicate moment for the administration as it seeks to align its “America first” regional approach amid a deepening diplomatic rift between Tokyo and Beijing over Taiwan, and following Washington’s recent approval of its largest-ever arms sale to the... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3338582/trump-meet-us-envoy-perdue-after-call-japans-takaichi-taiwan-drills-conclude?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3338582/trump-meet-us-envoy-perdue-after-call-japans-takaichi-taiwan-drills-conclude?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Jan 2026 19:17:01 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan In a pointed display of diplomatic unity, the US ambassador to China announced that the envoys of Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) nations – the United States, Australia, India, and Japan – had met in Beijing, just as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted live-fire exercises during its large-scale military drills around Taiwan. “The Quad is a force for good, working to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific. It is always great to meet with the Quad Ambassadors here in Beijing,” said... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3338218/us-envoy-backs-free-open-indo-pacific-quad-meeting-beijing-amid-pla-taiwan-drills?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3338218/us-envoy-backs-free-open-indo-pacific-quad-meeting-beijing-amid-pla-taiwan-drills?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Dec 2025 21:31:31 +0000 Farwa Aamer Farwa Aamer The year began with promise for US-India relations. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington reinforced both countries’ intent to sustain the partnership’s momentum. Their personal rapport, forged during US President Donald Trump’s first term, appeared to offer political capital for a results-driven agenda. India entered 2025 buoyed by a bipartisan consensus in Washington that New Delhi was central to the Indo-Pacific balance. Yet as the year closes, optimism has faded. A... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3332216/how-india-and-us-can-find-their-way-back-better-relations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3332216/how-india-and-us-can-find-their-way-back-better-relations?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Nov 2025 21:30:09 +0000 Bibek Raj Kandel,Christina Monroe Bibek Raj Kandel,Christina Monroe As the global order fragments, India’s foreign policy orientation has become a question of consequence far beyond South Asia. For three decades, “Look East” has been New Delhi’s mantra, positioning itself as an emerging player in the broader region. The strategy has included engaging the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, deepening India’s presence in Asia-Pacific institutions and eventually leaning into the “Indo-Pacific” frameworks shaped by the United States, Japan and Australia. It... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3327966/indias-diplomatic-weight-best-exercised-closest-its-borders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3327966/indias-diplomatic-weight-best-exercised-closest-its-borders?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Oct 2025 01:30:08 +0000 Zhao Ziwen Zhao Ziwen The US’ waning interest in regional relations and its weakening ties with India are eroding American-led alliances in Asia, creating openings for China, a prominent Japanese defence researcher has warned. Masayuki Masuda, head of the China division at Japan’s National Institute for Defence Studies, a research body under the Ministry of Defence, said the shift was already affecting key groupings such as the Quad and raising alarm in Tokyo. “[Regional alliances] are one of the biggest sources of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3326202/why-japan-worried-about-decline-us-ties-india?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3326202/why-japan-worried-about-decline-us-ties-india?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Sep 2025 02:00:30 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji In the race to secure the building blocks of tomorrow’s technology, India and Australia are edging ever closer to a strategic minerals partnership, positioning themselves as a counterweight to China’s dominance. Negotiations are ongoing, with both nations exploring avenues to build upon their critical minerals investment partnership – launched in 2022 – to establish joint ventures that could encompass not only sourcing but also collaborative processing of these elements that are essential to the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3321267/india-australia-unite-challenge-chinas-rare-earth-reign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3321267/india-australia-unite-challenge-chinas-rare-earth-reign?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Aug 2025 08:00:13 +0000 Huw Watkin Huw Watkin For much of its history, Australia’s identity has been defined by distance – geographical, political, psychological. Now, with global tensions rising, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is testing whether that distance might yet be a source of strength. The answer, he seems to believe, lies in recalibrating Australia’s relationships with friends and rivals alike. As both critics from the political left and independent observers assail the cost and risks of Aukus – and the right demands ever-greater... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3317927/us-china-tug-war-australia-puts-itself-first?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3317927/us-china-tug-war-australia-puts-itself-first?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Jul 2025 00:00:12 +0000 Junaid Kathju Junaid Kathju India’s failure to rally international backing for its claims that Pakistan was behind a recent deadly militant attack in Kashmir has exposed the limits of its diplomatic influence. The setback has raised questions about India’s ability to mobilise multilateral platforms in its favour, despite being a prominent member of the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the US-backed Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), according to analysts. At the SCO meeting in Qingdao on June 25,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3317231/indias-global-clout-doubt-after-failing-sway-sco-quad-pakistan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3317231/indias-global-clout-doubt-after-failing-sway-sco-quad-pakistan?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Jul 2025 10:00:16 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will welcome counterparts from the “Quad” to Washington on Tuesday, in an at least brief refocus on Asia, the State Department said. Rubio first welcomed foreign ministers from the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue – an informal strategic forum comprising the United States, India, Australia and Japan aimed at upholding a free and open Indo-Pacific – on January 21, his first meeting after US President Donald Trump’s inauguration. The summit had been seen as a sign... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3316003/marco-rubio-welcome-asian-quad-counterparts-back-washington?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3316003/marco-rubio-welcome-asian-quad-counterparts-back-washington?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Jun 2025 20:37:50 +0000