The Quad has served Beijing a veiled notice on the Indo-Pacific
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The latest summit of the four-nation Quad, which brought together the leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the US, ended over the weekend with agreements to extend cooperation in areas varying from fighting cervical cancer and ensuring cybersecurity to joint development of port infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific, the creation of an air-logistics network and a group effort to keep chip supplies secure. This reflects a broad agenda, with the well-being of the region’s people at its heart.
Yet, although no official mention was made of China, the summit’s outcome had tell-tale signs of the breath of a dragon in the room. For the past half decade or more, ever since this Quadrilateral Security Dialogue formally adopted the goal of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, the threat foreseen has been clear: Beijing’s advancing appetite for power projection across the eastern hemisphere. It had once seemed that the Quad would test India’s professed neutrality in geopolitics.
But, to New Delhi’s credit, its embrace of the group has been nuanced enough for that resolve to be held firm. Nobody should fret about a military alliance in the making. The Quad has no pact of mutual defence.
This is in harmony with India’s insistence on strategic autonomy and full control of its armed forces. “We are not against anyone," stated Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “We all support a rules-based international order, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and peaceful resolution of all issues." On an item-wise perusal, the Quad has civilian aims like calamity relief and disease prevention.
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