Jagannath Panda was interviewed about the new ‘Squad’ bloc in the South China Morning Post
May 14, 2024: Jagannath Panda, Head of the Stockholm Center for South Asian and Indo-Pacific Affairs, was interviewed by the South China Morning Post on the new ‘Squad’ bloc that could allow the Philippines to ‘borrow strength’ of Australia, Japan, and the U.S. to counter China.
He said it would be unsurprising if the Squad grouping turned into a more institutionalised bloc like the Quad.
“Squad countries are strong maritime nations, having keen commercial interests in the conflicting South China Sea to the East China Sea.
“Having official backing among the navies of these four countries makes sense, and hence eventually the Squad might emerge as a more institutionalised or formalised grouping,” Panda said.