Heightening great-power rivalry has impeded consensus-making in multilateral institutions. This has given rise, in recent years, to minilaterals especially in the Indo-Pacific. Even as there are criticisms that minilaterals are too informal and lacking in structures that are required for focused debates, China’s belligerence has galvanised support for, and focus within minilateral groupings in the region. Over the past year, the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic has also revealed the vulnerabilities of existing multilateral institutions, further driving the emergence of both strategic minilaterals and more targeted ones focused on various issues, including supply chain resilience. This brief weighs the potential of minilateralism in the Indo-Pacific, and argues that in the foreseeable future, it will endure.
Explaining the Rise of Minilaterals in the Indo-Pacific | ORF (orfonline.org)
