QUAD: Countering China

The fourth in-person Quad summit was held in Wilmington, Delaware, US, on September 21. Wilmington is the hometown of the outgoing US President, Joe Biden. The venue was accepted by India, Japan and Australia to honour Biden for his contribution to strengthen Quad. The chosen venue was also a tribute the leaders of these countries paid to a person who has spent more than fifty years in public service. Biden became a senator at the age of 29 in 1972. The people of Delaware elected him to this office term after term for 36 years. In 2008 he became Vice-President and remained so for 8 years. He finally concluded his distinguished political career as President. Biden chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee which led to his interaction with numerous world leaders. He earned the respect of many of them, even of those who had adversarial relations with the US.

There is, in fact, an informal ‘club’ of world leaders. This is undoubtedly the most exclusive ‘club’ of all; for, its membership is determined on the basis of respect which established world leaders have for their peers. Not all holders of a country’s highest political office can join this club. Biden did. Modi also earned the respect of his global peers through his victories in the 2014 and 2019 elections. Significantly, it was India’s turn to host the Quad summit but it allowed the US to hold it as Modi’s gesture to Biden.

Quad’s basic rationale is to counter China’s aggressive rise. This is notwithstanding Modi’s remark that Quad is not directed against any country. Indeed, Biden’s hot mic comments on China reflect the true sentiments of Quad countries on China.

One region where China has displayed its coercive influence has been the Indo-Pacific. It has sought to woo the countries of this vast area with a policy of carrots and sticks. Its carrots have contained poisons; a major part of its developmental assistance is through massive construction projects which have led to unsustainable debts in the recipient countries. To repay these debts, some of them, have had to mortgage or lease their assets, including land, for long periods. However, the economic conditions of many Indo-Pacific countries, including some in South Asia, have left them with no alternative but to accept Chinese poisoned carrots. The Quad countries are now seeking to counter these Chinese policies through their own coordinated development programmes. The Wilmington summit focused on many significant developmental areas including health, disaster relief, connectivity, providing quality infrastructure and maritime security. An important initiative in the health sector concerns controlling cancer. To begin with, cervical cancer will be targeted. Clearly, the Quad countries realise that China’s assistance programmes need to be energetically countered. The real problem that the four countries will have to overcome is that of coordinating among themselves so that their plans and promises are smoothly and effectively implemented. This is not going to be an easy task.

While the initial impulse for Quad may have been to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region, it is now evolving into a very strong partnership of the four countries. This is leading them to cooperate among themselves in some of the frontier areas of technology, including digital technology. This is obvious from those parts of the Wilmington Declaration which do not specifically pertain to the Indo-Pacific. Such cooperation  relates to cyber, space and the creation of a Quad investment network to facilitate investments in strategic technologies. Significantly, the Declaration has also touched upon the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, the situation in Myanmar and the Ukraine war and North Korea.

Russia may not be pleased with India going along with the other three countries who have been bitterly critical of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. The Declaration’s full formulation on the Ukraine war is being quoted to give its significance. It states “We stand for adherence to international law and respect for principles of the UN Charter, including territorial integrity, sovereignty of all states, and peaceful resolution of disputes. We express our deepest concern over the war raging in Ukraine including the terrible and tragic humanitarian consequences. Each of us has visited Ukraine since the war began, and seen this first-hand; we reiterate the need for a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in line with international law, consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. We also note the negative impacts of the war in Ukraine with regard to global food and energy security, especially for developing and least developed countries. In the context of this war, we share the view that the use, or threat of use, of nuclear weapons is unacceptable. We underscore the importance of upholding international law, and in line with the UN Charter, reiterate that all states must refrain from the threat of or use of force against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state”. India has never gone as far as the formulation in the Declaration in implicitly the criticising the Russian aggression.

It is a sign of how far India’s view of itself has changed that it has allowed itself to be included in the Declaration, along with the other three, as a ‘maritime democracy’. Through history its central authority viewed the country only through a continental lens. Now, that is changing, as it should. At the same time though it cannot be overlooked that India’s territorial problems with its neighbours arise out of territorial disputes covering long boundaries. So, India is both a continental and a maritime power.