The original QUAD has four members; USA, India, Japan and Australia, but in the prevailing situation Donald Trump has mooted the idea to induct more countries whose leaders have nice relations with him. There are number of groupings of the countries, but this from the beginning of its formation had the avowed aim to isolate China from the global fraternity.

No doubt India ought to expand its international base, but it must have its own. The earlier QUAD was inspired by the USA and at that time Barak Obama was the president. China was certainly not a favourite country for Obama but during his stay as president he did not pursue any bitter policy towards it. On the contrary Trump complicates the issues and is of the habit of blaming China for all nonsensical issues. Only recently he had blamed China for spreading coronavirus. He has severed USA’s relations with World Health Organisation.

India has to ensure that it does not fall into the Trump trap. India needs to work on the makeover of its own independent image. It must “adopt a global vision” to deal with Beijing’s aggression. Trump may be the personal friend of Narendra Modi but it does not guarantee that all his decisions will serve the interest of India. Who can guarantee that Trump will not use the QUAD to serve his own personal interest?

There is no denying the fact that India has to deal with China from a position of strength. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been right;” If you deal with them from a position of strength, you can get what you need. But if they sense weakness, then you had it. Dealing with the situation with China requires a vision, an international vision. (China’s) Belt and Road initiative is an attempt to change the nature of the planet. India has to have a global vision. The thing that is going to protect India is thinking big.”

The recent re-emergence of terms like “Malabar” and “Quad” in the media, as well as in the national security discourse should be music to the ears of India’s small but diehard band of “navalists” (advocates of maritime power) and supporters of Trump. But they have to maintain restrain. It is essential for India’s strategic-planners and policy-makers to have clarity about the reason India had become a partner of the QUAD in 2008 along with Japan and Australia.

In the current scenario, given Chinese imperialist-expansionist intent, Sino-Indian tensions will further escalate. If India is not to cede ground physically or diplomatically, it instead of following the US design must muster all elements of its “comprehensive national power”, diplomacy and create a strong negotiating position.

We must bear in mind that China has launched a mission to isolate India from its neighbours. Only a few day back Pakistan had a fruitful interaction with Bangladesh after several decades. Simply toeing the lines of Trump is not going to help India. Time has come to evolve its own policy towards China and other countries.

The QUAD traces its origins to the Asian tsunami of December 26, 2004. The navies of the US, Australia Japan and India had come together to form “Joint Task Force-536” headquartered in Utapao (Thailand). This established the framework for “quadrilateral coordination”. China’s extreme concern about the concepts of Malabar as well as the Indo-Pacific and Quad arises from the suspicion that they are precursors to “containment”

While Malabar remains a visible and reassuring symbol of Indo-US-Japanese solidarity, there is a need for the US to recast its Indo-Pacific strategy. It is worth mentioning that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s statement earlier this month regarding China’s maritime claims served only to highlight America’s helplessness in the South China Sea. The pursuit of a closer security partnership with the US does not mean that India should follow the US lead on its other important relationships.

Reports that Iran and China are close to concluding a 25-year strategic partnership have generated considerable angst in India. This is being linked to reports that Iran has decided to undertake the construction of the Chabahar-Zahedan railway line to the border with Afghanistan on its own. India should pursue its largely successful policy of maintaining positive relations with Iran, the Arab states and Israel, just as China has done and not use a Chinese prism through which to shape its policy.

Both Russia and China have been grumbling about India’s growing warmth towards the US in the last few years. Little doubt the Galwan encounter has produced a discontinuity in India’s China policy. How Russia responds to India’s request for support in this confrontation with China will, of course, have a major bearing on the future evolution of Delhi’s ties with Moscow.

The Quad meeting came as the US appeared to be shifting strategic focus. Trump by referring the region as the ‘Indo-Pacific’ rather than the ‘Asia-Pacific’, made his intentions clear that India should act as US proxy. India does not have good relations with China notwithstanding sincere efforts made by Modi during his six years of rule, but that does not mean that it should act at the behest of US to serve its interest.

Sino-India relation has been mainly vitiated by some of the foreign players close to USA. They have been putting forward the idea to include the construction of a military alliance with the US and other Western partners as well as economic decoupling and diversification.

The United States has emerged as a major defence partner of India. American presence in Indian defence will continue to grow in the coming years. China today is the world’s second-most important power and a valued political and economic partner for most countries in the world. Obviously few economies would want to involve into the conflict between India and China. India will serve its national interests most if the NDA government deals with China on its own strength independently without being an active participant of any global alliance led by the US. (IPA Service)