The strength of the Quad: ahead of a blunt message to China
Quad is a strategic requirement of India. For us, Quad-2 means that Indian access should be to Digogarsia, a US military base located in the Indian Ocean. The golden age of Indian diplomacy will begin when China starts sleeping from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean.
The summit between the Heads of Government of America, India, Japan and Australia (Quad Countries) is significant in the short history of this organization.
The notable part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address was, ‘Our agenda of the Quad is for the global good; It is an extension of the ancient philosophy of India ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’.
It is an important pillar of stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla took the matter further, ‘The Quad countries underlined their commitment to freedom and openness, prosperity and security in the Indo-Pacific.’
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga completed the rest with this tweet, ‘I oppose China’s unilateral efforts to change the status quo.’ Overall, the undercurrent of the talks was anti-China.
Before the summit, China had sweetly warned that any system of regional cooperation should be in line with the current trend of peaceful development and not vice versa.
It is hoped that the participating countries will take appropriate steps for regional peace and stability. After the talks, China said that India is proving negative for BRICS and SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization). China also said, ‘We said in February that we support the BRICS summit in India.
India seems to have failed to understand the goodwill of China. The truth is that India is engaged in strategic blackmail of China. The message from Beijing is unambiguous: in the days to come, it will do more openly hostile acts against India. Quad or not, China will always be anti-India.
India should be concerned about Russia’s stand. There was no response from Moscow after the talks, but a statement from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov a while back cannot be ignored.
Ignoring India’s diplomatic compulsions, he said on the Quad, “Western forces are dragging India into the anti-China game.”
Along with this, the western countries are also doing things to have a bad effect on Russia’s close cooperation and special relations with India. This is the motive of America’s enormous pressure on India for military and technical cooperation. His remarks were insulting to India.
The Russian foreign minister forgot that even in the golden age of the Indo-Soviet friendship treaty, two prime ministers, Charan Singh and Indira Gandhi, refused to support the entry of Soviet forces into Afghanistan.
Taking the Quad forward is India’s strategic need. Had it been toothless, China and its ally Russia would not have openly opposed it. America’s policy of isolating Russia left Moscow with no choice.
Russia was helpless after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Now Russia has gone a long way. He must be feeling a threat to himself in the Siberia region due to China’s ambitious plans.
The number of Han Chinese has increased rapidly in Russia’s border area with China. Such situations continue to arise when nations deliberately ignore small threats to counter bigger threats.
Russia is sensible, it will not create such a situation in front of India in its own interest. India’s national interests demand that it should strengthen every such organization and diplomatic efforts, which restrain China.
A lot is going to be proved shortly. India has been invited to the talks proposed by the US for peace in Afghanistan.
But India is not in Russia’s proposal. China is trying to infiltrate into Afghanistan. The same thing applies to Pakistan as well. It needs the ‘strategic depth’ which it has been deprived of because of India. India-Afghan cooperation has undergone a qualitative change after the ouster of the Taliban.
If India’s achievements in Afghanistan are adversely affected, it will have a severe backlash. Various elements of Indian power are engaged in defending their interests, but Russia has its own long-term interest in ensuring that India’s diplomatic options are not limited.
The Quad serves India’s interests only to the extent that China sees itself being curbed. If China becomes unbridled, then world peace in the Indo-Pacific region will be in danger and India will not be able to escape from its grip. But even more important for India is the Indian Ocean.
Apart from the Andaman Islands and the Strategic Command established there, India’s interests are also at stake. From Myanmar’s maritime border to Sri Lanka, Maldives and Madagascar, there is a compulsion to keep an eye.
During the Second World War, the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was later asked when did the most worrying turning point for you during the war.
His answer was: When the Japanese Navy was moving towards the Trincomalee port of Sri Lanka. Today China has gathered there. India’s troubles increase as soon as a pro-China and pro-Pakistan government is formed in the Maldives.
During the Cold War, India saw its interest in the demilitarization of the Indian Ocean. Today the definition of interests has changed. The Indian Ocean has been severely militarised. The Hitlerana expansionism of the Han Chinese continues to grow in the Indian Ocean.
