RAKSHA ANIRVEDA
OPINION
QUAD is more than a mechanism to restrain Chinese adventurism (even if parties are bashful of acknowledging it) and has the potential of impacting geopolitics, once it comes of age
QUAD - FROM LIFE SUPPORT TO SHAKY ADOLESCENCE
By AMB VISHNU PRAKASH (IFS, RETD)
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t is nothing short of a miracle that QUAD has lived to turn 13. It was born of a reluctant union, mired in self doubt and absence of fanfare. It was not loving parental care but unintended external sustenance that kept its oxygen flowing. Former National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon was scathing – “QUAD comprises three islands and a peninsula with a hole in the middle.” Since I may have piqued your curiosity, let me elaborate. Speaking at the Indian Parliament in August 2007 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe eloquently outlined the vision of a “BROADER ASIA” made possible by the “dynamic coupling” of the Pacific and the Indian Oceans or “Confluence of the Two Seas” to further freedom and prosperity. Hailing the democratic credentials of both maritime nations, noting their vital interests in the security of sea lanes and underlining their common intent to form a “Strategic Global Partnership” he
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mooted the idea of like-minded nations such as Japan, India, the US and Australia joining forces to form an “Arc of Freedom and Prosperity.” It would be an “open and transparent network…. (to)… allow people, goods, capital, and knowledge to flow freely.” He called upon both sides to come up with a framework of security cooperation over the following years. However, Indian leaders were hesitant to buy into the idea. It spoke volumes of Mr. Abe’s tenacity and persuasive powers that the said nations came on board. That is how the Quadrilateral Security
Dialogue’ or QUAD came into being, even though the seeds got planted in December 2004 when Australia, India, Japan and the US, actively collaborated in rushing disaster relief to the tsunami hit nations. The speed of India’s response came as a pleasant surprise to her partners. The first meeting at the level of officials (Additional Secretaries) was discreetly held in Manila on May 25, 2007, on the margins of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) event. Ironically almost immediately thereafter all participants, excepting Japan, sought to downplay its significance. PM Manmohan Singh reportedly assured President Hu Jintao that there was “no question of ganging up” against China. Defence Minister Brendan Nelson stated that Australia favoured limiting the initiative to trade, culture and other issues outside the domain of defence and security (The Japan Times).
10/12/2020 7:34:45 AM
