There has been subdued reluctance to accept the geopolitical strategic construct Indo-Pacific, extensively used and championed by President Trump. The idea of Indo-Pacific with an underpinning of India’s growing eminence has been resisted for long. Instructively, while the Indo in the Indo-Pacific construct refers to Indian Ocean, China and later Russia under duress firmly subscribed to the usage to term Asia-Pacific with reference to maritime region abutting the Asian underbelly to undermine India’s inexorable strategic importance in the region.
An inadequate and ambiguous
Asia-Pacific construct, never incorporated India’s interests in the region.
With the economic activity and the concomitant strategic interests shifting to
the East, the region which was confluence of two Oceans- Indian Ocean and
Pacific Ocean soon turned out be hub of geopolitical activity. The narrow
Asia-Pacific construct, which is more continental in its approach failed to
accommodate the overarching maritime interests of the dominant players of the
region. Besides the overreliance on energy sources from the Middle East and
Africa to the growing economies in the East Asia invariably increased the
thrust on the maritime security along the SLOCs (Sea Lines of Communication).
Besides, China’s rise powered by
global ambitions and the adventurous expansionism spurred anxieties among the
nations in the region. Beijing’s assertiveness changed the strategic equations
in the regions prompting a change in the nomenclature suitable for the region
to address these issues. Strategists coined “Indo-Asia Pacific”1
to accommodate the relevance of India’s traditional role as the net security
provider of the region. Soon enough, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo-Abe in
2007, for the first time enunciated his vision for, “Confluence of Indian and
Pacific Oceans” addressing the Indian Parliament. Later President Trump, has
shortened the term to Indo-Pacific and lent more credence to this new
geopolitical concept.
Dr Gurupreet Khurana, Executive
Director of National Maritime Foundation was first credited with the usage of
the term Indo-Pacific in contemporary times. But in reality, this concept is
not new. The concept was first used by German geopolitician Karl Haushofer in
1920s. He predicted the rise of “Indo-Pacific” or “Asiatic Monsoon countries” and
urged German leaders to ally with Indo-Pacific countries- India, China and
Japan. Strategists popularly quote from his 1939 article, “If an empire could
arise with Japan’s soul in China’s body, that would be a power which would put
even empires of Russia and the United States in the shade”2.
This scenario seems more relevant now than ever.
The basic premise of the Indo-Pacific
concept is to increase the naval capabilities of the countries in the region.
But the two-pronged objective of the US has been to retain its regional
influence against the challenger China and to tone down the aggressiveness of
Beijing by propping up India’s influence over strategic chokepoints and
alleviate Japanese presence in the Indian Ocean.
Besides, the security dimension
another major trigger for coming together of the four democracies has been the
devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The navies which worked together during
the disaster soon formed a loose coalition of Quad or the Quadrilateral Security
Dialogue and for the first time held joint Malabar exercises in 2007.
Leadership change in Australia and Japan, has diluted the spirit subsequently.
After a decade, in response to China’s unabated politico-military adventurism,
the Quad was reborn in 2017 with motto of “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”.
Clearly the trigger and the
motivation behind this new geopolitical recalibration and revival has been a
hegemonistic and aggressive China. On March 12th Quad received a
major fillip with President Biden convening the first ever virtual meeting of
the Quad leaders. Biden who evinced interest but hesitatingly tottered to roll
out a strong Indo-Pacific policy and preferred referring to this as “secure and
prosperous Indo-Pacific” on Nov 20th, 20203
finally believed in the indispensability of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific
bolstered by his predecessor.
This historic Quad meet of the
leaders was preceded by Foreign Ministers meet on Feb 18th where
Biden administration officials praised the group for its role “in advancing US
interests and strategy in the Indo-Pacific region”.
Maiden Quad summit coming just a
month after Sino-Indian logjam disengagement in Eastern Ladakh and pending
further pull back of troops along the LAC witnessed, India’s abdication of
traditional reluctance. For long, cognizant of Chinese sensitivities, India
shied away from Quad deemed as anti-China grouping. But the series of Beijing’s
brazen escalation-Taiwan annexation attempts, ripping the democratic fabric of
Hong Kong with National Security Law, punitive trade sanctions on Australian
imports, insidious maritime incursions, new law authorising the coast guards to
shoot foreign vessels, troops build up and bloodshed in the Eastern Ladakh have
triggered the countries to come together. This hostility towards China has been
the potent glue
Giving Quad much needed strategic
direction and without directly referring to the elephant in the room, the
leaders of four countries-the US, India, Japan and Australia for the first time
published an op-Ed4 and even issued a joint statement, a departure
from separate statements from all countries thus far.
While this shift from the
tradition and meeting of the highest authorities have definitely underscored the
commitment of Quad nations, the vision which hardly made any mention of any kind
of strategic military alliance generated new interest. To take on the
malevolent, Chinese propaganda machinery, nations resisted the temptation to
call out China openly. Instead, they blunted China’s abetment of fears regarding
the Quad censored as “Asian-NATO” with a smart joint statement which rested on
the pillar of diplomatic cooperation.
Shunning a hard-nosed approach,
leaders reaffirmed commitment “to promote a free, open rules-based order,
rooted in international law to advance security and prosperity of Indo-Pacific
region and beyond” and be “united in shared vision for free and open
Indo-Pacific” and “strive for a region that is free, open, inclusive, healthy,
anchored by democratic values, and unconstrained by coercion”. They
pledged to “support the rule of law, freedom of navigation and overflight,
peaceful resolution of disputes, democratic values and territorial integrity”5.
They recognised the centrality of
ASEAN and reaffirmed support for ASEAN unity. Shifting focus to global
challenges and specifically to the issues more relevant to the region like the
health and economic impact of COVID-19, climate change. In addition, Quad
agreed to address shared challenges in cyberspace, critical technologies,
counter terrorism, quality infrastructure investment and humanitarian
assistance and disaster relief as well as maritime domains.
With a focus on the developmental
challenges, Quad positioned itself as a benign grouping. By inviting countries
like Vietnam, New Zealand and South Korea to earlier meetings last year, during
COVID-19 outbreak, Quad demonstrated its openness for Quad plus arrangements.
To advance meaningful cooperation
and collaboration, Quad constituted- three working groups on vaccine
partnership, climate change and critical technologies6. Quad
came into existence to address an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the
Indian Ocean in 2004. Born out of crisis, in response to the pandemic
devastation, Quad pledged accessibility to vaccines for the Indo-Pacific
region.
As of part of this ambitious
effort, Quad nations have resolved to integrate the scientific ingenuity with
peerless production capabilities and stellar logistics to help end COVID-19 in
the region. Accordingly, US and Japan will finance the vaccine production of
the American vaccine in India with Australia stepping forward to extend
logistics support. Working together with WHO and COVAX alliance, Quad intends
to ensure delivery of vaccines for a healthy and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
In what can be a massive boost to
Atmanirbhar Bharat, India’s Biological E headed by Mahima Datla will partner
with Johnson &Johnson of US to produce 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines
by 20227. On climate change, India has already positioned
itself as a proactive leader. International Solar Alliance and One World One
Sun One Grid (OWOSOG), India has demonstrated its commitment towards renewable
energy production. India’s objective as in line with collective objectives of
Quad. New Delhi’s partnership will thus be an invaluable asset for realisation
of the climate change goal for the region.
Finally, the working group on critical
technologies resonates with India’s larger vision for an indigenous 5G, larger
scheme for expansion of the semi-conductor FAB plants and National Strategy for
Artificial Intelligence (NSAI). By nurturing Quad under the new framework of
cooperation instead of overt confrontation, Quad Summit has lent a new
directionality to their Indo-Pacific policy.
Infusing a fresh momentum to
Quad, American leadership has rightly attempted to reclaim its leadership in
the region. Most importantly, with a renewed focus on Indo-Pacific,
indispensability of India to this geographical construct has been accentuated.
India learnt valuable lessons
post 2004 Tsunami and honed its skills in humanitarian skills and disaster
management and fondly acclaimed the reputation of the First responder in the
region. To a world overwhelmed by pandemic health impact, with its formidable
vaccine production capabilities and Vaccine Maitri has emerged as the
most responsible global player.
While China continues to gloat
over India’s growing closeness to the US, warns of “losing its strategic
autonomy” and castigates New Delhi as “negative asset of BRICS and SCO”, the
writing on the wall is clear. China’s belligerent rise has catalysed the
revival of the Quad. Disconcerted by Chinese expansionism, France, Germany and
the UK are also recalibrating their Indo-Pacific policy. A construct, which
hardly found a mention in strategic annals a decade ago.
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