International ‘groupthink’ in a hypothetical Taiwan Strait crisis

THE Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, is tiptoeing into the tricky terrain of “groupthink”, when senior bureaucrats huddle together during war or a national crisis. It is a terrain where the Quad may find itself completely unprepared.

In the comfort zones of their capital cities, each member state – Australia, India, Japan, and the United States – practises groupthink, or some variant of it, with practised ease. The Quad, as a group, is in deeper waters. They’re new at the game. They’re not even sure what the game is. And some countries don’t really want to play it because it might mean taking sides.

The name of the game is “maritime security in the Indo-Pacific”. Before it can be played, it needs rules. The Quad’s main participant, the US, has tried to frame these. But not every country has agreed to play by them.