INDO PACIFIC SECURITY PERSPECTIVES : "QUAD"S SALIENCE FROM SECURITY GROUPING TO GEOPOLITICAL CONSTRUCT ALARMS CHINA CONSIDERABLY

Friday, May 28, 2021

"QUAD"S SALIENCE FROM SECURITY GROUPING TO GEOPOLITICAL CONSTRUCT ALARMS CHINA CONSIDERABLY

China noticeably in recent weeks stands alarmed considerably after the Virtual QUAD Summit of top political leaders added enlarged geopolitical contours spanning wider domains to its earlier intended construct as a mere security grouping.

In doing so the QUAD's apex political leaders of the United States, India, Japan and Australia have robbed China of its strident criticism that the QUAD was a military grouping aimed at China and dividing the Indo Pacific into ColdWar divides.

The QUAD's main intended purpose of integrating the Navies of the QUAD Nations through institutionalised mechanisms to provide existential deterrence to China's aims of dominating the Western Pacificand similar long term of the Indian Ocean remains unchanged.

The new construct being given to the QUAD envisages widening and extending QUAD Naations cooperation to Cybersecurity, Terrorism and Diasaster Relief.

More noticeably, QUAD Nations are venturing into the economic field cooperation by Supply Chain Resilience Initiative whose main aim is to replace China-centric supply chains dependence by alternative supply chains.

The above would greatly dilute China's economic power to strategically exploit economically weaker nations and so also China's economic strengths.

While geopolitical constructs will impart to the QUAD contours other than a mere military grouping but essentially the core aim remains China-containment, even though not stated so bluntly.

Significantly, the QUAD's widening its scope to one of an overall geopolitical construct would make it easier for a country like India to a more active and salient participation as a pivotal pillar of the QUAD.

Addedly this enalargement of cooperation aims could make it easier for other Indo PacificNations to join the QUAD who otherwise did not seem to be seen on he opposing side of a China-contaiment divide.

Concluding, it needs to be highlighted that instead of allaying China's fears the trnasformation of the QUAD has raised more pronounced alarms in China going by latest pronouncements of Chinese Premier, Foreign Minister and official spokespersons.

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Dr Subhash Kapila—Academic & Professional Profile

Dr Subhash Kapila is a Graduate of the Royal British Army Staff College.UK.: has a Masters in Defence Science from Madras University with his thesis on ‘India’s Foreign Policy in Far East Asia’ and a Doctorate from Allahabad University with his thesis in 1994 on ‘Asia Pacific Security-2000 AD Perspectives’.

Dr Subhash Kapila combines a rich and varied professional experience of Indian Army (Brigadier) in criteria appointments on Command, Staff and Instructional. Indian Army service encompassed long tenures on India’s borders with China and Pakistan.

Dr Subhash Kaila’s professional exposures also include diplomatic assignments in United States, Japan, South Korea and also official tenures in UK and Bhutan. These years of diplomatic and official assignments afforded deep insights on Asia Pacific security challenges and China-watching from different perches.

Dr Subhash Kapila has authored two books--- ‘China-India Military Confrontation:21^st Century Perspectives’ (2015) and an earlier one on India’s Defence Policies & Strategic Thought-A Comparative Analysis’ (2004)

Dr Subhash Kapila has authored over nearly 2000 Papers on Geopolitical, Foreign Policy and Strategic topics of Major Powers like USA, China, Japan and regional issues of South Asia, South East Asia and the Middle East.

Dr Subhash Kapila has presented Papers at international forums in Russia, Japan, Turkey and Vietnam and National and University Seminars in India.

Invited for TV/Radio discussions by CNN, BBC, Pakistan Geo TV and multiple Indian Channels.

INDO PACIFIC REGION—GEOPOLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE

“Indo Pacific Region encompassing the vast geographical expanse from West Coast of the United States to the Eastern Littoral of Africa on the Indian Ocean and Australia in South Pacific has emerged in recent years as a fulcrum of global security and stability.

Competing security narratives led by the United States and a reactive hardly credible narrative by China challenges foreign policy and security policies directions of Major Powers in the Indo Pacific comprising United States. India, Japan and Australia.

Needless to highlight as so many academic treatises have already done so that Indo Pacific Security Template as a strategic construct and narrative emerged so as a narrative in the last decade generated by fears of China’s not so benign intentions manifested from Himalayan Heights of China Occupied Tibet borders with India to the Western Pacific seas, and more pointedly to the South China Sea where China has indulged in military aggression ad coercive brinkmanship to establish “Full Spectrum Dominance” endangering Indo Pacific Security as a whole.”------------Dr Subhash Kaila’s earlier writings.

“The Indo Pacific has assumed tectonic significance for a wide range of nations affirming their agency in an uncertain world. Far from being an obscure account of of words and maps, the narratives of Indo Pacific nations hands a great dilemma of the 21^st Century: how can other countries respond to a strong and coercive China without resorting to capitulation or conflict.” –Professor Rory Metcalf, Australian National University.

“In this century, the Asia Pacific and the Indian Ocean Rim which some refer as the Indo Pacific will become the world’s centre of gravity.”---Australian Defence Minister