Quad leaders meet

Yoshihide Suga, Japan's prime minister, right, watches while a monitor displays U.S. President Joe Biden, Scott Morrison, Australia's prime minister, and Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, during the virtual Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) meeting at his official residence in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, March 12, 2021. As President Biden seeks to shore up ties with allies in Asia, hes reshaping the message to avoid spooking them about Americas intentions when it comes to China. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Chinese Economic Ties to India, South Korea, Japan & Australia

Published May 7, 2026
By HAF A5SM

TOPIC SPONSOR: HAF A5SM

The US-China strategic competition has increasingly impacted the Asia-Pacific region, both economically and from a national security perspective. The Department of the Air Force seeks to better understand these impacts and, consequently, shape a cost-imposition strategy. This study aims to explore the industrial capacities of four major regional countries - India, South Korea, Japan, and Australia - with a specific focus on their ability to absorb economic and industrial capacity expansion, especially in defense-related industries.

How is China imposing costs on India, South Korea, Japan & Australia? How could their economic ties to China limit their economic choices?

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- Subsequently published in Wild Blue Yonder (August 5, 2024).
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- Subsequently published in Wild Blue Yonder (June 27, 2024).
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- Rieske addresses this by explaining how India's deep economic reliance on China—specifically its massive trade deficit and intertwined supply chains—severely restricts both its economic and strategic choices. Because China is India's largest trading partner, India is extremely hesitant to formalize a military alliance or establish permanent operating command structures with the U.S. out of fear that China will use its economic power coercively in retaliation. To overcome this limitation, Rieske suggests that the U.S. can help India balance its trade by increasing U.S. exports to India while India deliberately reduces its imports from China, thereby loosening China's economic grip over India's strategic decision-making.
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