Establishing a First Island Chain Balance of Power: Cooperative Development of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue
Abstract
The People's Republic of China's (PRC) is attempting to establish a regional hegemony within the First Island Chain through illiberal activities and coercive application of the nation-state's instruments of national power. If the PRC is successful, then the liberal international order will be altered, global prosperity and stability could be threatened, and ability of the United States (U.S.) to uphold American diplomatic and moral obligations in the region may be jeopardized. As such, counterbalancing the PRC's expanding influence in the First Island Chain is a vital national interest for the U.S. The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) represents an existing multilateral mechanism upon which the U.S., and the liberal international community at large, can build upon to establish a regional balance of power that will offset of the PRC's revisionism. Through an examination of open-source documentation and archival records, six potential strategic approaches (SA) were identified to strengthen the Quad as a credible international actor capable of counterbalancing the PRC's coercive behavior within the First Island Chain. Two evaluation frameworks were then applied to each SA to determine strategic validity and devise a flexible organizational structure. A recommended strategy was developed from the validated SAs to formalize and, eventually, institutionalize the Quad, thereby allowing the U.S. to overcome the tyranny of distance to achieve its regional objectives; uphold the current liberal, rules-based international order; and create a balance of power with the PRC's growing influence.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 10, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1212013
Entities
People
- J. Brian Wallace
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College