India, U.S, Japan, Australia resume naval exercise

So weird to have F/A-18s operating alongside Mig-29Ks on the same team! Would be interesting to see if an F/A-18 could trap and then launch off the ski jump of the Vikramaditya. It would have to launch pretty light but it might be something to try in case it is ever needed. I'm sure since US pilots have never launched this way, with no catapult, the pucker factor would be pretty high.

Japan need to build aircraft carries again. I look forward to seeing the new Izumo in action.

No South Korea?

No surprise there. Not part of the Quad Alliance either. You Koreans realize China come to defense of North Korea in the last War. Your war, The Korean War.

I guess the shield and burden in East Asia falls on Japan's territory and responsibility. Japan, with other countries have to make sure to keep China in Line Which Benefits South Koreas existence.... But They will not Share that Burden! !

But they do expect to get support and help if North Korea ever attacks again. It's called a One Way Street In This Relationship.

More nations need to join this alliance and gain experience and training.

It is going to come to the time when china does need the reality check and its not simply going to be stern words or trade barriers, it will be by force !

More nations need to join this alliance and gain experience and training.

Sadly this is not an alliance....yet. Japan is unable to go to the aid of anyone, except maybe America (not sure), in the event of hostilities. Japan can only defend itself if attacked.

The Quad is a "gathering" of like minded nations but nothing has been signed to indicate mutual defense or alliance. That would be nice, and perhaps in the near future such a prospect can be reached. Japan would need to alter its article 9 to enable it to join and make alliances.

The second phase of naval deal by Quad, this time at Arabian Sea. Apparently, it resembles a 'regional initiative to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific'.

Regional initiative or not, Quad aims to contain China.

China's assertiveness or not, Quad's main goal is to monitor China's every movement, domestically & internationally. Does anyone like that?

Venze yes everyone likes that

China's assertiveness or not, Quad's main goal is to monitor China's every movement, domestically & internationally. Does anyone like that?

Yes!

They should bud out of the China Sea and stop poking a stick in the eye of the worlds largest nuclear armed country.

"The Quad is a gathering of like minded nations but nothing has been signed to indicate mutual defense or alliance. That would be nice, and perhaps in the near future such a prospect can be reached." 

Collective defense or a NATO like treaty will never happen. India is perpetually at war against Pakistan and other countries will not want to be drawn in their squabbles, especially since Pakistan is also a US 'ally'. India also does not want to get involved in US led wars in random countries, though Trump tried really hard to get India to commit some troops in Afghanistan.

What one can envisage is some sort of mutual defense against one single country China.

I guess the shield and burden in East Asia falls on Japan's territory and responsibility. Japan, with other countries have to make sure to keep China in Line Which Benefits South Koreas existence.... But They will not Share that Burden! !

My intuition tells me that were China and Japan to become engaged in any kind of war, the South Koreans would side with the Chinese, maybe even attempting to restrict what US forces in South Korea could do by way of defending Japan. Such treachery would not surprise me at all, especially if the Chinese and North Koreans threatened them if they sided with Japan and the US.

They should bud out of the China Sea and stop poking a stick in the eye of the worlds largest nuclear armed country.

South China Sea is mostly international waters through which a great deal of US, Australian, Japanese and Indian trade moves. They have every right to protect their right to freely navigate these waters. International waters are open to use by all maritime nations. China is trying to restrict that in contravention of centuries old international law. They are the outlaw in this matter, not the members of the Quad. Look at a map of China's claimed "Nine Dash Line" and you can clearly see how ridiculous, and illegal, their claims to the SCS are.

China's assertiveness or not, Quad's main goal is to monitor China's every movement, domestically & internationally. Does anyone like that?

It is more than that. If nations start to defer to China's demands wrt the SCS, then their claims effectively become permanent. What the Quad is doing is openly sailing and operating in what have always been international waters but are now claimed as exclusively Chinese, defying China's claims and in this way enforcing their status as international waters. That is also the purpose of the FON operations. China claims a chunk of international waters as their own and the US, India, Australia and others not only say no, but sail their ships right through there to prove China doesn't really control them. And because the US, Japan, Australia and India have effective well trained navies, a fact that is conveniently demonstrated and reinforced by these exercises, the Chines are deterred from using their own military to drive other nations ships out of the waters they illegally claim. The Chinese know that were they to try their forces would take a beating at the hands of the members of the Quad.