US, Australia, Japan, and India Formalize Arc of Democracy in Indo-Pacific

Australia, America, Japan, and India could formalize their quadrilateral strategic security ties at an in-person ministerial meeting in Delhi in the coming weeks. On Aug. 31, in an online seminar at the annual U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum, the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. State Department Stephen Biegun said the Indo-Pacific was lacking strong multilateral structures. He said: “It is a reality that the Indo-Pacific region is actually lacking in strong multilateral structures. They don’t have anything of the fortitude of NATO or the European Union.” “The strongest institutions in Asia oftentimes are not inclusive enough, and so … there is certainly an invitation there at some point to formalize a structure like this.”