Since 2017, the Quad has dominated strategic discourse on emerging partnerships in the Indo-Pacific. However, as middle powers in the Indo-Pacific seek to balance their relationships with the United States and China, they have increasingly looked toward alternative forums for regional cooperation to advance their interests. Middle powers in the Indo-Pacific, having gained more economic and strategic leverage in recent years, are forging new – and sometimes unexpected – bilateral and trilateral partnerships with each other outside of U.S. or China-led groupings. In light of U.S. concerns over the maintenance of a rules-based international order and China’s significant economic ties to regional middle-powers, this emerging trend has the potential to restructure and disperse the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region.
South Asian Voices has compiled an archive of past publications and recent analysis of emerging partnerships between middle powers in the Indo-Pacific. Please continue to check back on this page as we update the collection.
Image 1: U.S. Info-Pacific Command in the Indian Ocean via Flickr
Image 2: Indian Ocean in 1912 via Picryl
