Open Access Research Article
GROWING RELEVANCE OF QUAD: IMPACT ON INDIA-CHINA RELATIONS
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GROWING RELEVANCE OF QUAD: IMPACT ON
INDIA-CHINA RELATIONS
AUTHORED BY - DR. AMRITA SINGH
Assistant Professor,
KLE Society’s KLE College of Law,
Navi Mumbai
Abstract:
The United States of America (USA), India, Australia, and
Japan are the four countries that make up the Quad, commonly known as the
"Quadrilateral Security Dialogue" (QSD). Working for a free, open,
prosperous, and inclusive Indo-Pacific area is one of the Quad's main goals. In
2007, the group convened for the first time outside of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). An alliance of marine democracies is thought
to exist. All of the member nations participate in meetings, semi-regular
summits, intelligence exchanges, and military exercises to preserve the forum.
The QUAD, which consists of the US,
Japan, Australia, and India, had been dormant until 2017, when it was
reorganised for a number of reasons, including China's increasing influence and
aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific, the need to maintain rules-based
order in the area, the need to strengthen the existing institutions, the need
to protect geostrategic and geoeconomic interests through freedom of
navigation, and the promotion of connectivity and regional development.
However, it is important to note here
that the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004, one of the greatest natural disasters in
history, led to the creation of the Quad framework. The shocking death toll
prompted several nations to band together to offer immediate humanitarian aid.
In order to help the tsunami-affected nations, India, Japan, the US, and
Australia created a "core group" and sent nearly 40,000 troops,
humanitarian aid workers, helicopters, cargo ships, and planes. Former foreign
secretary Shyam Saran stated: 'India's entire capabilities came as a surprise
to the world, demonstrating India's power, leadership ability, and commitment
to the Indo-Pacific'.
Midway through January 2005, the
humanitarian relief mission came to an end, but the leaders' understanding of
the Quad framework began to grow again. Shinzo Abe, Japan's former prime
minister, advocated for freedom, human rights, democracy, and the rule of law
in 2006 when he proposed a "arc of freedom and prosperity." Manmohan
Singh, the former prime minister of India, travelled to Tokyo in the same year.
In a joint statement, the two nations indicated their readiness to start
discussions with other "like-minded" nations in the Indo-Pacific
area. US Vice President Dick Cheney expressed US interest in the Quad dialogue
in 2007. The Quad was given an ideological foundation by Abe's remarks on the
"confluence of the two seas" during his visit to India in the same
year. On the fringes of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila a month later, the
'initial Quad's' first meeting was held.
Chinese Muscle-flexing
Two Malabar naval exercises were
conducted in 2007. The US-India drill included Japan for the first time in
April, and when Singapore and four other navy joined in September, the exercise
became multilateral. The coalition, however, disintegrated when China began to
oppose the exercises. Indian communist groups also started to demonstrate
against the maritime drills, severely harming India's standing in the Quad.
India hesitated as well out of concern that its competition with China might
prevent it from joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Shinzo Abe, the main
proponent, also resigned as prime minister, and India also lacked Australian
support, mostly because of China.
However, increasing Chinese
aggression forced India to quicken the Quad's pace. The leaders of the Quad
countries convened in the Philippines in 2017 on the fringes of the ASEAN
summit, bringing the organisation back as Quad 2.0. India, formerly a reluctant
participant, started acting proactive. For instance, Australia started asking
India to rejoin the Malabar exercises in 2017; India finally agreed in 2020.
Furthermore, border disputes—the Galwan Valley confrontation in 2020 and the
Doklam incident in 2017—pushed India towards active engagement by emphasising
India's proficiency in pharmaceuticals, supply chains, technology, and
manufacturing capacity at the Quad virtual and in-person summit in 2021.
The events that occurred in the years
between 2012 and 2020 are responsible for the Quad's resurgence. When Prime
Minister Abe retook office in 2012, he demanded a "democratic security
diamond." Each member of the Quad experienced Chinese aggression between
2013 and 2020 when Xi Jinping was in power. China put security at risk by
refusing to abide by globally recognised maritime regulations, contesting
orders based on those regulations, claiming lands and islands, creating
artificial islands, and endangering Indo-Pacific peace. In 2012, China used
coercion against Japan in the vicinity of the Senkaku Islands. The trade imbalance
between Beijing and Washington has caused tensions to rise. As was previously
noted, India and China had border disputes in 2017 and 2020 at Doklam and
Galwan Valley.
Relevance of QUAD for India
The core of QUAD is an Indo-Pacific
region that is open, inclusive, and free. China has recently become India's
largest threat, and US backing for the latter has reached a boiling point. The
geopolitical context has become the impetus behind India's QUAD membership. The
summit highlights how deeply strategic India's interest in the Quad is,
especially in light of the current border impasse in Ladakh. The containment of
China's expanding military engagement in the Indo-Pacific area will always be
the main agenda item of QUAD, despite the fact that it covers a wide range of
topics, including the economy, pandemics, and development.
The fact that many countries in the
aforementioned region, including India, the Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, Brunei,
Malaysia, and Vietnam, have maritime or territorial disputes with China makes
this issue much more important. Beijing has been particularly active in the
South China Sea, even going so far as to contradict international maritime
treaties and rules. The main world powers have been extremely concerned about
China's ongoing military show-off.
China's viewpoint has not altered
since it initially rejected the creation of the Quad. The Quad was described to
as a "headline-grabbing idea" by the Chinese Foreign Minister in 2018
and the group was charged of overtly promoting conflict among Asian regional
countries. Beijing has urged nations like Bangladesh to refrain from
participating with the Quad because it sees it as a part of a bigger plan to
encircle China.Here, it is important to quote the statement made by the
spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry following the summit on March 12,
2021: "We hope that relevant countries will keep in mind common interests
of the regional countries and uphold the principle and do things for regional
peace, stability, and prosperity rather than the opposite." The statement
makes it abundantly clear that Chinese see QUAD as a danger to their quest to
dominate the area. Being the main rival for China in South Asia, Beijing is
particularly displeased with India's membership in Quad. India, on the other
hand, views it as a chance to make up for past wrongs and counterbalance
China's expanding expansionism in the region.
No country in QUAD has a boundary
that China disputes, with the exception of India. This fact also restricts
India's ability to adopt a combative military posture in the Indo-Pacific area.
If India takes this action, Chinese assault on its border region may become a
concern. Even though India has greatly improved its military capabilities, it
still trails behind other QUAD members in a number of areas. For instance,
India lacks the industrial infrastructure necessary to produce advanced warfare
platforms.
Due to shortcomings in significant
force transformations, a lack of integration between its services, and the
absence of a national security doctrine and architecture, India's increasing
acquisition of military hardware has also failed to turn it into a military
power. Additionally, India, a developing country, is under enormous pressure to
spend more on defence in order to resist Chinese repositioning due to its
limited natural resources. In order to displace or lessen India's power, China
is most importantly using its BRI to influence and try to shift domestic
politics in nations like Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
India has both benefits and drawbacks
from joining the Quad. As was already indicated, India can counteract China's
expanding influence in the Indo-Pacific through the Quad, including the BRI
(Belt and Road Initiative), which has seen China build ports in nations bordering
India, creating a feeling of encirclement in New Delhi. With the help of the
Quad, India may transcend its position as a middle-power and extend its
influence beyond the Indo-Pacific. Additionally, India's engagement in the
Indo-Pacific is strengthened by its Act East Policy and Extended Neighbour
Policy.
In addition, with the Quad as a
backdrop, India's bilateral connections with 'like-minded' nations can be
strengthened even further through agreements on intelligence sharing, arms
exchange, military ties, and other things. Economically, the Quad will help
elevate India as a top investment location, particularly in light of the
COVID-19 epidemic. Due to its "Vaccine Maitri," the Indian
government's efforts to distribute COVID-19 vaccinations to other countries,
India is considered as a prominent actor in the post-pandemic world order. The
Quad is important for India because, via economic cooperation, shared
democratic principles, and strong defence connections, it has the opportunity
to increase its pharmaceutical prowess and assert its leadership in the post-pandemic
world.
QUAD is a forum that gives India a
special opportunity to hold diplomatic consultations for better regional policy
coordination with the member nations to talk about a number of important topics
that affect the Indo-Pacific region, such as maritime security,
multilateralism, and connectivity. Discussing particular policy actions with
like-minded states based on shared regional security perspectives might lay the
stage for "preventive diplomacy." The QUAD's institutional framework
and ambitions are formally unstated, and because it is a small group, its
member nations can work quickly to forge an alliance without being constrained
by the conventional principles of non-intervention and consensus-based
decision-making that are the fundamental principles of ASEAN and render it
ineffective while ruthlessly addressing threats to the political and economic
interests of the nations belong.
From a regional standpoint, the
majority of South East Asian countries and Pacific Island Countries (PIC) have
traditionally seen India as a trustworthy partner, whether for humanitarian aid
or for development goals. The Prime
Minister of Papua New Guinea, James Marape, recently praised India as the
leader of the global south and said that PIC will support India's leadership in
international forums during a meeting at the third Forum for India-Pacific
Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) conference. In response, India vehemently defended
its support for multilateralism and a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
It is important to note that most
nations in South East Asia and the Pacific Islands lack the resources and
technology necessary for having an adequate understanding of the marine
environment. Quad will undoubtedly gain their trust if it positions itself as a
regional provider of public goods to help these nations. The Quad nations will
also strive to provide an alternative to Chinese infrastructure while reducing
their reliance on Chinese supply chains and technologies. The Quad will also
coordinate its positions on disputes involving the East and South China Seas,
the situation in the Taiwan Straits, and other divisive topics in the
Indo-Pacific and beyond. Additionally, it will strengthen cooperation on
climate change, public health, space exploration, and cybersecurity. In
addition, Quad will focus on China's main diplomatic, economic, and security
initiatives as well as its foreign policy priorities and will react in a
coordinated manner.
China asserts that it cannot be
contained and that it is correct. Its own actions will determine whether it
rises or falls. Recent Chinese moves have sparked an outcry in the region and
beyond that the Communist Party of China will find challenging to handle. In
order to prevent a growing China from continuing to be hostile to their
interests, other states are currently attempting to establish the conditions of
engagement. All nations, big and small, will still be at odds about who
determines the parameters of their interaction with China. And it is in this
area that India has played a crucial role in inspiring this response. In order
to challenge China on the predatory features of the Belt and Road Initiative
and other policies, New Delhi was not afraid to go alone, if necessary, even
before the recent border crisis brought about a paradigm shift in India's China
policy. Even its friends cautioned it against rejecting BRI because of
potential bad effects, so it travelled a lonely path. However, New Delhi
eventually succeeded in making its criticism of China's infrastructure initiatives
well-known and mainstream.
In conclusion, Quad is vital for
India since it is seen as a strategic counterweight to China's expanding
economic and military might. India may enlist the assistance of other Quad
members to combat any escalation in Chinese hostilities along its borders as a
Quad member. With the aid of its naval force, India may potentially execute
strategic expedition in the Indo-Pacific region. Overall, Quad offers India the
option to engage in multilateral cooperation on a range of initiatives that can
support the growth of an open, free, and rule-based Indo-Pacific region. It
will also be fascinating to see how India balances its ties to China in the
context of QUAD. India will
have to subscribe to the realpolitik logic to prove that QUAD is not a
Democratic confrontation against the Communist Bloc.
References:
1.
Miller Chatterjee, Milar(2021). “The
QUAD, AUKUS, and India’s Dilemmas”, Council on Foreign Relations, Available on:
https://www.cfr.org/article/quad-aukus-and-indias-dilemmas
2.
Lew J. Jacob, Roughead Gary (2021).
“China’s Belt and Road: Implications for the United States”, Council on Foreign
Relations, Available on:
https://www.cfr.org/report/chinas-belt-and-road-implications-for-the-united-states/download/pdf/2021-04/TFR%20%2379_China%27s%20Belt%20and%20Ro
3.
Pant, Harsh V. (2022).
“India and the Quad: Chinese belligerence and Indian resilience”, Observer
Research Foundation, Available on:
https://www.orfonline.org/research/india-and-the-quad/
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Prabhakar
Deshpande, Dr. Prashant . “QUAD and its significance for
India”, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/truth-lies-and-politics/quad-its-significance-for-india/.
Article Information
GROWING RELEVANCE OF QUAD: IMPACT ON INDIA-CHINA RELATIONS
Authors: DR. AMRITA SINGH
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2023/05/31
- Volume 2
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
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