Japan is set to cooperate with the Five Eyes, which comprises Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States

September 2China, with its aggressiveness and brute force, has severely damaged its international reputation, and alienated its partners. And COVID-19 pandemic has driven countries, which were China-dependent supply chains, to look at other options.

Catching onto China’s motives, countries in the region have become more vigilant and are preparing to counter the Asian giant.

According to an article by Brahma Chellaney in Japan Times, Japan is set to cooperate with the Five Eyes, which comprises Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. Then there is also the Quad, which is an alliance made up of Australia, India, Japan and the US. This is a notable shift for India, writes Chellaney, Professor of Strategic Studies at the New Delhi-based Center for Policy Research and Fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin.

Robert O’Brien, US National Security Adviser, recently noted that the Chinese have been very aggressive with India. The People’s Liberation Army, since late April, has occupied several areas in the northern Indian region of Ladakh and India has taken counter actions as well, the article says.

As such, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is considering inviting Australia to participate in the annual Malabar naval exercise with the Japanese, American and Indian forces, said the report. Initially, India was hesitant to bring Australia back into the fold for fear of provoking China, but now that Australia has once again involved in Malabar, the Quad will have a formal, practical platform to conduct naval drills.

Furthermore, the strategic alliance is gaining momentum, as per the report, Australia and India have also signed the Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement to increase military interoperability through bilateral defence activities. And India has a similar pact with the US and will be signing one with Japan as well. It can be said that because of China’s increasing aggression, the Indo-Pacific democracies are forging closer strategic bonds.