The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, between the US, India, Japan and Australia, is steadily forming a vital networked defence structure in response to China's growing military power in the Indo-Pacific.
(Map courtesy Wikipedia).
The US is still the vital cog in the Quad. This is because the geographically, culturally and linguistically diverse nature of the Quad, tends to weaken it against centrally commanded, Chinese forces.
To redress this weakness increased all services, exercise, interactions of Quad members is vital, as well as common weapons, procedures and broader use of English whenever possible. English is very widely spoken in India, the US and Australia. Knowledge of English in Japan is improving.
In initial response to Pete’s perhaps extravagant claim that far in the future Australia and France may have a nuclear propelled/nuclear weapon submarine deal GhalibKabir made excellent comments on November 20, 2020. The Quad is a regionally useful arrangement at hand ie. very soon, rather than Australia-France Nuclear, which would be way down the track.
GhalibKabir comments:
“Not unless the Quadrilateral or whatever can walk the talk. Else, Australia will not get a nuclear SSN fleet as a [French K15 reactor] LEU based fleet needing refueling every 7-10 years is a costly thing to sink US$ 100-200 billion into.
Unless SIGINT collaboration, Undersea collaboration including bigger IUSS backed by UUV and UAV coordination materializes tangibly, the PLA will keep having an open field.
Most importantly, in case there are serious risks of flare-ups, unless there is serious signalling to China in terms of assured retaliation in terms of [Electronic Warfare?] EW response, [anti-satellite] ASAT retaliations on Chinese satellite constellations etc. China will brush this away like an elephant swatting away a fly.
To use underwater as an illustration, this is what it will take to make China take things seriously in the Indian Ocean and SCS
1. SIGINT/ELINT sats linked up across to P-8s, E-2Ds, RQ-4s/UAVs etc across from India to Australia
2. IUSS/SOSUS: These are to have links to AUV/UUVs and also to satellites above
3. Submarines: Along with UUVs, midget subs, AIP bearing SSKs, SSNs etc. need to be used in a 4 layer mesh. India, US, Australia, UK, France etc might need to collaborate here to manage the nearly 80 submarine plus innumerable UUV holdingPLAN.
4. Surface vessels: Right from sharing bathymetry data etc, major surface vessels need to carry good Variable Depth Sonar (VDS) suites and be able to coordinate
5. Air support, missiles and munitions: Again SEAD/DEAD suite bearing fighters, long range munitions, BVRAAMmissiles will need coordinated deployment to sustain parity or if not, a small 'first see, first shoot'chance against PLAN planes like the KJ-500 and KJ-600s and [Chinese stealth] J-20 and J-31 [aka FC-31]
This is the bare minimum needed... meaningless 'viagra for hermaphrodites' gestures like FONOPswon't cut any ice."