Since the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (or Quad) was revived in November 2017 after a decade of dormancy, analysts have seized upon the Biden administration’s enthusiasm for the U.S.-Australia-India-Japan grouping.

Facing China’s increasing assertiveness, these analysts want the Quad to adopt a more military-focused role in the Indo-Pacific to counter China. That means, for example, moving beyond the Quad’s Malabar joint naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, improving intelligence and logistics sharing, establishing a standing multinational naval force, and even going as far as adopting a NATO-type model of a permanent headquarters with a multinational staff.