After launch of AUKUS, India underlines 'constructive' agenda of Quad

The Quad has a ‘constructive’ agenda, India said on Monday, as the four-nation coalition came under a shadow after two of its constituents – Australia and the United States – joined the United Kingdom to build a new trilateral security alliance, AUKUS, with the same objective of containing China.

With the first in-person summit of the Quad set to take place at the White House in Washington DC on Friday, New Delhi stressed the ‘constructive’ agenda of the four-nation coalition, thus tacitly underlining that the four-nation coalition was different from the newly launched AUKUS, which would focus more on security and defence cooperation among the US, the UK and Australia to counter China’s hegemonic aspirations in the Indo-Pacific region.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Washington DC this week for Quad’s first in-person summit, which will be hosted by US President Joe Biden. Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga of Japan will also take part in the summit.

“The agenda of cooperation under the Quad framework is constructive and diverse,” Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla said while delivering a speech at the 6th JP Morgan “India Investor Summit” on Monday.

Read | Quad coordination crucial for tackling global issues like securing free and open Indo-Pacific: Experts

New Delhi has been quietly working with Canberra, Washington DC and Tokyo to add military heft to the Quad, in view of China’s growing belligerence, not only along its disputed boundary with India but also in the South China Sea, the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.

But the Modi government last year resisted pressure from Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump’s administration to formally turn the Quad into a NATO-like military alliance for the Indo-Pacific region. New Delhi was concerned over the implication of such a move on India’s strategic partnership with Russia and on its negotiations with China to resolve the military stand-off in eastern Ladakh.

But the Biden Administration last week went ahead and launched with Australia and the UK the AUKUS, which appeared to be more like a security alliance, focussed on development of joint military capabilities and defence technology sharing. The AUKUS will create a framework for the US and UK to support Australia in acquiring a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.

The latest move by the US, the UK and Australia to launch the AUKUS fuelled speculation about the fate of the Quad.

Shringla, however, on Monday said that the four Quad countries were engaged on issues of connectivity and infrastructure, emerging technologies, climate action, education, and most important of all, the Covid-19 responses, including vaccines collaboration and cooperation to ensure resilient and reliable supply chains.

New Delhi has been insisting on keeping the Quad as a benign coalition of democratic nations to counter China’s geopolitical influence in Indo-Pacific, primarily by promoting connectivity, funding infrastructure development projects, supplying anti-Covid-19 vaccines and supporting post-pandemic economic revival in the countries in the region. India repeatedly stressed that its own vision for the region remained inclusive in nature, not targeted at any country, but supportive of freedom of navigation and overflight and peaceful settlement of territorial disputes.

“Outside the immediate concentric circle of our neighbourhood, our SAGAR – Security and Growth for All in the Region – policy underpins our vision of the Indian Ocean region and the greater Indo-Pacific region,” the Foreign Secretary said.

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