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After hesitating for a while, India has chosen to turn the Malabar naval exercise into a ring by inviting Australia to join the United States and Japan. This year’s exercise was held in the Bay of Bengal in the first week of November. This is the second time the four navies have come together for a naval exercise in the Indian Ocean, after 2007 when China opposed it, calling it the Asian NATO. Since then, India has been careful not to antagonize China until this year, when hostilities broke out along the China-India border. The exercises are not formally linked to the Quad forum (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue), but Australia’s participation will definitely provide a military dimension to the Quad, which was formed in 2017 with the goal of establishing a ‘free and open’ Indo-Pacific. Although the Quad is currently only an official “meeting and discussion” mechanism on security issues, it has the potential to become a security forum.
This time, China had a quiet response compared to 2007, but cautioned against any regional grouping in which the United States, a formidable countervailing power against the Chinese military, is a member.
The last Malabar acquires greater importance since it takes place in the middle of Chinese expansionism. China has already achieved its ‘consolidation’ in the South China Sea, has seized control of few strategic locations in the Himalayas, and is upping the ante against the United States. Its naval strategy has also expanded from “defense on the high seas” to “protection in open seas”, extending its wings to the larger Pacific and Indian Ocean region. With this, the Indo-Pacific is practically the area of operations of the PLA Navy. However, the absence of a concrete security forum to “discuss and act” has left the region vulnerable to competition for security and hegemonic politics.
In all regions, the responsibility for maintaining order and peace rests with the major powers. When they act in concert with smaller countries, protecting the interests of the smaller ones, peace and stability are assured throughout the region. Since the United States’ ability to ensure the security of allies in Asia, let alone preserve regional order, is in doubt, the region’s major powers, such as India, Japan, and Australia, must work closely to avoid ambition. of preeminence of China in India. -Peaceful.
So far, these regional heavyweights have adopted a policy of “not antagonizing” China and have also been reluctant to endorse a US-led balance against China. This has emboldened China to turn its image of ‘peaceful rise’ into an assertive military power, and it has won the prize by changing the status quo in both the South China Sea (SCS) and now the Himalayas.
So far, China has not used its military force in its expansionary actions in the maritime arena. In the SCS, frequent Chinese intrusions have been carried out in the disputed area with maritime militias, to scare off fishermen from other countries. However, with the use of regular military force to change the status quo in the Galwan Valley in the Himalayas, where the Indian and Chinese military clashed and twenty Indian soldiers and several ‘missing’ Chinese soldiers were killed, China has shown that It is no hesitation in using PLA to settle scores with opponents.
An assertive power needs to be militarily checked, otherwise it will become more revisionist. So far, none of the regional countries have had the means to confront China individually, or no regional mechanism like the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), or any other existing regional grouping, could put pressure on China. They all follow a “consensus and compromise” approach based on the ASEAN form of dispute resolution mechanism.
However, the Quad does not need a formal NATO-inspired military coalition mechanism. The formal military coalition follows the principles of collective security that take the security of one is the security of all. Although it ensures the security of the smaller states, it is mainly driven by the choices and preferences of the powerful who set the agendas and interests. A military Quad can function without following the principles of collective security, but it can pursue a consensus and rules-based approach.
A consensus approach is necessary because the four member countries have different security interests and concerns, and also different approaches and priorities in dealing with China. Compared to the US and Australia, India and Japan are neighbors of China and have territorial disputes with it, thus facing a direct threat to the security of China. Similarly, except for India, the other three are mutually entwined security partners under the United States, so New Delhi stands out from the alliance system and has no intention of joining it at all. In this sense, the Quad must first formulate agendas based on consensus and norms, and see how it can act accordingly.
In the military Quad, the US has to be a facilitator, not a main balancer, to promote it as an acceptable grouping throughout the region. For the US, the Indo-Pacific is one of many security concerns, while for other members it is their own region. India could take a more important leadership role in the Indian Ocean region, while Japan and Australia can do so in their own areas. Since this is not a formal military arrangement, they do not need to follow the principles of the alliance, but at the same time they need an institutionalized military arrangement.
Given the context of China’s frequent military provocations against potential rivals to test its resolve on how to respond to Chinese aggression, a military Quad is necessary. China’s dominance in the maritime arena is shaping up along with its modernized navy, backed by its economic growth. Without a doubt, China sends a message to regional states that if anyone seeks to challenge China, it will be prohibitively expensive for them. So only a joint mechanism could counter Chinese ocean aggression in the future. The Indo-Pacific region requires different levels of organizations and the Quad can be a true military organization of powerful countries. In this sense, a military Quad is imperative and must assume more responsibilities both individually and collectively.
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