U.S.-China-India-the “Quad”
U.S.-China-India Relations and the “Quad”
Beginning in the Obama administration and continuing in the Trump and Biden administration, U.S. strategy to contain China’s rise has involved, among other things, a vigorous effort to establish a strategic partnership with India and forge a quasi-alliance between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States – an arrangement known as the “Quad.” Many analysts see the Quad as the nucleus of a future NATO-like organization to contain China. Needless to say, China views these activities as a significant threat to its security. The Committee will follow these developments closely and post articles and documents of interest on the subject as they appear. Additional content of interest can be found in the China-Biden File and Recent Developments in U.S.-China Military Competition.
Huge Military Exercise Kicks Off in Australia Amid Tensions with China
Konstantin Toropin, Military Times, July 14, 2021
NOTE: This article describes a massive military exercise, dubbed “Talisman Sabre,” begun July 14, 2021 by the armed forces of Australia and the United States, with added participation by forces from United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea. Some 17,000 troops are expected to participate in the biennial exercise, which is to include offshore naval maneuvers and large-scale ground operations. Analysts describe the biennial exercise as aiming to send a strong message to China about Washington’s determination to demonstrate strength in the region and its close bonds with allies in the area.
"Talisman Sabre is a major undertaking for all participants and demonstrates our capacity to achieve large-scale operational outcomes, while also dealing with a global pandemic," Maj. Gen. Jake Ellwood, commander of Australia's Deployable Joint Force Headquarters, said in a statement published by Australia's Department of Defence.
This year, Talisman Sabre begins just days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the U.S. would continue to follow a Trump-era rejection of nearly all of China's significant maritime claims in the South China Sea and warned its leaders that any attack on the Philippines would provoke a U.S. response under a mutual defense treaty.
Amid that backdrop, Talisman Sabre will conduct amphibious landings, ground force maneuvers, urban operations, and air combat and maritime operations. The Australian announcement also notes that "a majority of these international forces will participate exclusively offshore, including about 5,000 who will participate as part of a US Navy Expeditionary Strike Group." In addition to naval forces, the exercise will involve 40 aircraft from the Royal Australian Air Force.
With Tension Rising in the Pacific, Australia is Preparing to Fight Alongside the US on Its Own
Benjamin Brimelow, Business Insider, June 20, 2021
NOTE: In an article about Australia’s increasing military cooperation with the United States and its growing tensions with China, Business Insider reports that the Australian government is preparing to fight China as a U.S. ally as well as independently. In addition to participation in joint military exercises, it is increasing its military spending to prepare for possible war with China.
China's immediate neighbors, particularly Japan and Taiwan, get most of the attention when it comes to military modernization, but Australia, which has no territorial disputes with Beijing, is also investing heavily in its own armed forces.
Last month, the Australian government announced an economic spending plan that included some $212 billion in defense spending over the next decade. The spending covers updating bases and acquiring new weapons, including long-range missiles — all meant to increase Australia's deterrence and combat capabilities and enable it to continue operating smoothly with US forces.
The new plans come amid a sharp decline in Sino-Australian relations, driven by China's military modernization, its activities in the South China Sea and Australia's Pacific Island neighbors, and Beijing's efforts to influence and coerce Australia through political, diplomatic, and economic pressure.
Australia's 2020 defense strategic update reflected not only those changes but the pace at which they have happened, according to Arthur Sinodinos, Australia's ambassador to the US.
India, US to expand military engagement, defense ties
Sheikh Saaliq, Associated Press via Military Times, March 21, 2021
In this article, Saaliq reports on a meeting between U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi of March 20 in which they and agreed to deepen defense cooperation, intelligence sharing, and logistics. The two underscored the importance of U.S.-Indian cooperation in facing the growing challenge posed by China.
“India is an increasingly important partner in rapidly shifting international dynamics. I reaffirm our commitment to a comprehensive forward-looking defense partnership with India as a central pillar of our approach to the Indo-Pacific region,” Austin said.
Austin is making the first visit to India by a top member of President Joe Biden’s administration. His visit follows a meeting last week between leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the United States, which together make up the four Indo-Pacific nations known as the Quad. The Quad is seen as a counterweight to China, who critics say is flexing its military muscle in the South China Sea, East China Sea, Taiwan Strait and along its northern border with India.
US Defense Secretary Austin’s Visit to India: A Sign of Closer India-US Security Ties
Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, The Diplomat, March 18, 2021
According to media reports, Austin, who will be in India from March 19 to 21, will have meetings with his Indian counterpart, Rajnath Singh, and other senior government officials. The visit will give a boost to the U.S.-India defense partnership and bring about greater synergy in framing a cooperative agenda in nurturing “a free, prosperous, and open Indo-Pacific and Western Indian Ocean Region.” The two sides will focus on ways to strengthen military-to-military engagement and bilateral defense trade, including industry collaboration. They will likely also discuss the evolving situation in Afghanistan. Indo-U.S. defense trade has grown manifold in recent years with the U.S. becoming one of India’s top defense suppliers. Media reports suggest a deal for 30 armed drones, 10 each for the army, air force, and navy, pegged at over $3 billion, is close to being approved by the Indian defense ministry. In November 2020, the Indian Navy acquired two Sea Guardian unarmed drones from the U.S. on a one-year lease. India has plans also to buy six additional P-8I long range maritime patrol aircraft in addition to the 12 already contracted.
U.S., India, Japan and Australia counter China with billion-dose vaccine pact
David Brunnstrom, Michael Martina, Jeff Mason, Reuters, March 12, 2021
According to this report by Reuters, as part of the U.S. effort to revitalize its alliances to counter Chinese influence in Asia, the first meeting of the leaders of the United States, Japan, India, and Australia – the so-called “QUAD” – was convened on March 12. The meeting was held on the eve of to a visit by top Biden administration officials to Japan and South Korea, followed by their meeting with their Chinese counterparts in Alaska.
In what Reuters described as “carefully choreographed” meeting “to counter China’s growing influence in the region,” was the announcement that the four increasingly allied nations will “supply up to a billion vaccine doses across Asia by the end of 2022.
The report stated that Japanese Prime Minister “Suga told reporters that he had expressed strong opposition to attempts by China to change the status quo in the region and Prime Minister Modi of India told the session that the Quad had ‘come of age’ and would “now remain an important pillar of stability in the region.”
In addition to the soft-power vaccine commitment, the leaders’ joint statement pledge to collaborate closely on security and climate issues. Disregarding democratic deficits in each of the four nations, the joint statement committed the four nations to “strive for a region that is free, open, inclusive, healthy, anchored by democratic values and unconstrained by coercion.”
'Quad' members eye first-ever summit this month
Kyodo News Service via Japan Times, March 6, 2021
On March 6, the Kyodo News Service reported that U.S., Japanese, Australian, and Indian leaders will meet in mid-March via teleconference to discuss means to counter China’s growing influence.
The article stated, “It would be the first summit involving members of the so-called Quad, a framework that was initially formed in response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami but now mainly focuses on regional security.”
foreign ministers of the four nations met online in February, at which time they committed to collaborate in efforts to ensure “a ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’ region with resolve to prevent any Chinese attempts to alter the status quo in the East and South China seas by force.”
As the next two items (“readouts,” of official summaries of official conversations) suggest, the Biden administration is deeply committed to cementing the U.S. strategic partnership with India and bolstering the so-called “Quad,” or strategic alignment between Australia, India, Japan and the U.S. aimed at containing China’s rise…
Readout of Secretary of State Blinken’s Call with Quad Ministers, Feb. 18, 2021
Office of the Spokesperson, U.S. Dept. of State
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, Indian Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar, and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. The Ministers discussed Quadrilateral (“Quad”) cooperation on COVID-19 response and recovery and climate change and committed to working together to address these global challenges. The Ministers also discussed countering disinformation, counterterrorism, maritime security, the urgent need to restore the democratically elected government in Burma, and the priority of strengthening democratic resilience in the broader region. The participants reaffirmed their mutual support for ASEAN centrality. They reiterated their commitment to the Quad meeting at least annually at the Ministerial level and on a regular basis at senior and working levels to strengthen cooperation on advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific region, including support for freedom of navigation and territorial integrity.
Readout of President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India
The White House, Feb. 8, 2021
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, committing that the United States and India will work closely together to win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, renew their partnership on climate change, rebuild the global economy in a way that benefits the people of both countries, and stand together against the scourge of global terrorism. The leaders agreed to continuing close cooperation to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, including support for freedom of navigation, territorial integrity, and a stronger regional architecture through the Quad. The President underscored his desire to defend democratic institutions and norms around the world and noted that a shared commitment to democratic values is the bedrock for the U.S.-India relationship.
US and Indian troops start joint exercise as Joe Biden seeks to build up Quad as counterweight to China
Minnie Chan, Feb. 13, 2021, South China Morning Post
Below are excepts from an article in the South China Morning Post about a joint U.S.-Indian military exercise that has received particular attention as it has been linked to increased U.S. efforts to enlist India in efforts to contain China.
The American military has started a delayed joint exercise with India in what analysts said was Joe Biden’s first move to use its Quad partners to assert pressure on China.
The two-week-long annual Yudh Abhyas exercise, which was initially slated to run in October but postponed due to Covid-19, resumed on Monday in the Mahajan Field Firing Range in Rajasthan, about 160km (100 miles) west of New Delhi, the US military newspaper Stars and Stripes reported on Friday.
The report said military exchanges between the two armies had been “bolstered by Indian apprehension over China’s growing military might and Beijing’s desire to dominate the region.” The annual exercise is a bilateral arrangement that started over a decade ago, but its scale has expanded in recent years.