Although the leaders of four nations in 2007 conceptualized the Quad, but could not formalize it, till 2017, as the Chinese threat could not be visualized then. So once China started pursuing its foreign policy objectives a little more aggressively and bulldozing its way in South China sea that the world woke to up to the threat imposed by the Red Dragon.
As regards India, it also felt the need after Chinese entered Ladakh region and threatened India at Dokhlam. In addition to this, India now finds itself being challenged by China in its own backyard as China has either replaced or soon going to replace India as the largest trading partner of Bangladesh, Nepal, Srilanka etc and has a much stronger Naval fleet, atleast in numbers than what India possesses. China in last 20-30 years has modernized and equipped its armed forces to such a level that its hard for India to challenge China militarily, all by itself. Although on land it may be able to do so but surely in waters it cannot, China is churning out ships in hundreds and even US cannot match that speed.
All this has not happened over night , but this realistaion that India needs to act on it has dawned in last few years, as all this while, the Indian policy makers were gleefully happy trying to resolve Border dispute with China diplomatically.
Despite China nibbling India's territory inch by inch, it is still reluctant to name China and ally itself with a Group whose sole agenda is Anti China, perhaps because it has a roaring business relations with China worth 77 billion dollars and it also does not wish to antagonize Russia. China today, despite all the border tensions, is the largest trading partner of India.
Need For an Alliance
The pandemic has also helped China to expand its influence to regions which were once under US sway. Undoubtedly, China in last few years has been challenging USA’s influence in many regions, but the pandemic has catapulted China to a superpower league, wherein it has replaced USA from number one position, in many areas.
There are two ways of beating your rival, one is by developing your own competencies and through a fair competition defeating him. But there is another way often taken by rascals and that is PULL YOUR RIVAL DOWN and then occupy his position. The pandemic has just enabled China to do that ; pulled down USA.
Now one can argue endlessly whether China used virus as a weapon or its spread was a genuine mistake but the data and the events that have unfolded in 2020-21 will not lie.
US and China who were battling for influence in Latin America till recently, the pandemic has helped China immensely to gain a Very strong foothold in USA’s backyard and USA will have to do something extraordinary now to regain its lost status in Latin America.
A Feb21 report in Times says that ; As countries in the region grapple with a cascade of challenges to their developing economies, they increasingly look not to the North but to the East i.e. China
The report says that ; China has now emerged as the top trading partner of South American countries.
When the world was grappling with covid , By late October’20, China had provided over 179 billion masks, 1.73 billion protective suits and 543 million testing kits to 150 countries and seven international organizations around the globe. The vaccine itself is now being increasingly used by all for geo political purposes. China is using it to further its influence in various regions. It is using vaccines to build bridges where it feels most valuable. In September’20, Brazil’s agreed to buy 60 million doses of vaccines from China, Peru’s President Francisco Sagasti announced the purchase of 38 million vaccine doses from state-run Chinese firm, Mexico had also signed an advance-purchase agreement with another Chinese developer, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister also revealed that China agreed to provide his nation with half a million doses of vaccine free of charge.
Admiral Craig S. Faller, who leads the U.S. military’s Southern Command, told a video meeting with members of the Defense Writers Group in December that China is actively making “deals to try to get the vaccine deployed and employed” around the globe.
One can easily assess the importance of this humanitarian aid. This is not simple geopolitics, but an indicator of the emerging world order. The countries were jostling with eachother to realign their strategic relationship. While all countries were looking inwards focusing on domestic corona virus problems, China was looking outward and pushing its agenda agressively.
Quad Summit ; Salient Aspects.
Add a comment
