Opinion | Why India should rethink its reticence towards ‘the Quad’
- India, the US, Japan and Australia first formed the loose security alliance in 2007, but a prolonged hiatus and lack of support have stifled its growth
- As China becomes increasingly assertive, is now the time for New Delhi to leverage the four-country grouping for its own ends?
Known as “the Quad” for short, this group held just one round of talks and military drills in 2007 before entering a decade-long hiatus after protests from Beijing, a change of government in Japan and unwillingness in New Delhi and Canberra to push the idea further.
Yet lately the group is coming back into focus. The US, despite President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy, seems to be viewing its ties with India with increasing importance, as seen in its decision to rename the Pacific Command – its oldest and largest unified military command – the Indo-Pacific Command in May 2018. Six months earlier, the Quad held its first meeting in 10 years on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in the Philippines.
Billed as a counter to a rising China, the Quad has yet to find a purpose
As India grows, its economic and military influence in the region is rising commensurately. New Delhi is also increasing its naval presence – setting up bases in the strategically important Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which lie close to the Strait of Malacca.
But the government of Narendra Modi is hardly embracing the Quad with open arms.
