The joint statement issued by the top leaders of Australia, Japan, India and the United States after they concluded their Quad summit in Tokyo on May 24 did not mention China by name. Yet that does not mean the informal security dialogue established to counter China in the Indian and Pacific oceans is softening its containment stance.
Quite the opposite. The strong opposition they expressed in the statement to “any coercive, provocative, or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo and increase tensions in the area” is widely believed to be reaffirmation of their shared intent to interfere in the maritime disputes in the East and South China seas between China and some other regional countries as well as its push for national reunification with Taiwan.
The Quad is now nothing but a tool that serves the US’ own strategic interests in the Asia-Pacific. As US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan put it, the Quad has now become the pivot of US policy in the region, “a foundation upon which to build substantial American policy”.
With the Joe Biden administration seeking to make the alliance the foundation for an “Asian NATO”, it casts doubts over the wisdom of the Narendra Modi government in India. Unlike Japan, India does not have a formal alliance with the US, and it does not belong to the Anglo-Saxon club which has bound Australia to the US for decades.
That India is regarded as a member of the US-led club through necessity rather than choice can be seen in the attitude Washington displays toward it. US President Joe Biden has publicly referred to India as “somewhat shaky” in its response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. India was also criticized by the G7 nations for banning its wheat exports recently at a time when starvation risks are growing in parts of the world as a fallout from the conflict.
Yes, India does have decades-old territorial disputes with China, and New Delhi may be inclined to adopt an attitude of “my enemy’s enemy is a friend”. But being a member of the anti-China club being formed by Washington will not in any way facilitate the settlement of the existing disputes with China and maintain peace and tranquility along the border. Instead, it will only deepen the mistrust and even enmity between the two countries, with China more likely to see India as a pawn in Washington’s geopolitical game.
To be a major responsible country that can play an important role in world affairs, India must stick to its independent foreign policy that best serves its own interests, rather than let itself be led by the nose.
Editorial, China Daily
