India is a partner along with three other countries - the USA, Australia and Japan - in QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue). There is no doubt that India’s decision to be a QUAD member is a strategic one to safeguard its security interests to a large extent, and even economic interests to some extent. China has criticized the QUAD and termed it an alliance of four countries primarily aimed against the Communist nation. Certainly, China’s interpretation of QUAD as an anti-China group is correct and it is a fact.

Amongst the four QUAD members, India is the only country that has a long border with China - which is occupying a large part of India’s territory that it captured after the 1962 Sino-Indian war.

In recent years, China has not concealed its ambition to become a world superpower in economic and military terms, and with territorial ambitions. China has been working out its strategies meticulously in several directions towards achieving its objective of emerging as a superpower.

In the process, China does not think that the means should justify the ends.  Through several acts, China has clearly indicated its intention to subdue the world by military occupation of some regions; by debt-trapping and coercing some other regions; and by implementing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) scheme in several developing countries in Asia and Africa that would make them dependent on Beijing in a variety of ways for all time to come.

India is one country in Asia that has refused to join BRI - formerly called One Belt One Road (OBOR), a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government as a key foreign policy initiative in 2013 to invest in nearly 70 countries and international organizations - knowing clearly well China’s manipulative interest.

In such circumstances, joining QUAD is a very important move on India’s part to protect its security interests against China’s aggressive military and economic onslaught.

Threat from China, Pakistan

With Tibet now under China’s control – the Communist nation having brutally occupied the region several decades back - Beijing is targeting to use the territory as a launchpad to attack India militarily in the future.  

China occupying Tibet is a clear act of aggression as it converted the region, with a glorious traditional value system, as part of the world’s most populated nation. Apart from that, China’s presence in Tibet is a clear security threat for India. India has to demand and ensure the liberation of Tibet from China and it should use its participation in QUAD as a strategy for that.

With Pakistan now almost at China’s mercy, India certainly faces a threat of aggression from these two countries acting together against India.  While China thinks that it has to subdue India somehow as a precondition to achieve its ambition of becoming a global superpower, Pakistan has built its political and governance style with hatred against India as the central theme.

Further, China has already brought Sri Lanka under its control with its firm entry into the island country’s territory by way of projects. Other smaller Indian neighbors such as Nepal and Bangladesh have also come under Beijing’s excessive influence.

The threat for India from China and Pakistan is real.  A military conflict may take place at any time creating a war-like situation between India on one hand and China/Pakistan on the other.  In such circumstances, India needs a QUAD arrangement desperately.

India needs Quad

But what is surprising is that India is not committing itself fully and unequivocally to QUAD alignment, as it wants to keep Russia in good humor and is buying arms and ammunition from Russia, even while being a QUAD constituent.

It is well known that China and Russia are getting closer now and in the event of China’s aggression against India, Russia will pay only lip sympathy to India.

Other members of the QUAD are suspicious about the motives of Russia and China. They may be looking at India’s action and policies of maintaining close relations with Russia, including buying arms from Moscow, with suspicion and may think that India may not be fully committed to the objectives of QUAD.

India has to necessarily and quickly rework its commitment to QUAD  and take its other three members into confidence about its foreign and defense policies and priorities.

India has remained silent about China’s aggression in Tibet for several decades now, virtually approving its occupation.  As a measure of supporting the cause of Tibet, India should persuade other QUAD members to express concern about China’s presence in Tibet and raise a collective voice for Tibet’s freedom.

The ground reality is that today India needs QUAD much more than the other members, who do not have to face a war-like situation with China and Pakistan.

As such, India needs to firmly align itself with the interests of other QUAD members and use its position as its member to protect itself against China’s aggressive tactics.

India cannot have its cake and eat it too.

(The writer is a Trustee, NGO Nandini Voice for the Deprived, Chennai. The views are personal. He can be contacted at nsvenkatchennai@gmail.com)