Kautilya in his Mandala theory of statecraft states that a neighbour is a natural enemy and a neighbour’s neighbour is a natural friend. Although in the modern understanding of state, it may not be completely correct but in India’s case, it is almost true. The constant aggression of China along the borders has aligned its neighbours to form a security architecture in the form of QUAD to defend the common interest and now its actions are giving a nightmare to China.
QUAD’s eye in the sky
According to a report, to counter China’s illegal fishing in the Indo-Pacific region, the Quadrilateral Security Alliance (Quad) has planned to launch a satellite. The news becomes very important because the specialized satellite for the Quad members will stimulate the data sharing and security management in the region between the members.
Security cooperation to this level is bound to increase due to the recent geopolitical situations. It will help in keeping a check on China’s misadventures in the region and creating a deterrent effect on the illegal activities of the paper dragon. Further, the coming together of four democratic countries, India, Australia, Japan, and the United States (QUAD) will teach a lesson of rule-based world order to the lawbreaker autocratic China.
Read More: How India’s ‘Necklace of Diamonds’ outsmarted China’s ‘String of Pearls’ in the Indian Ocean
Hindrance in the rule-based world order
China has been thoroughly a rogue towards all of its neighbours. Going against the order of UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on Law of Sea), China continues to aggress in the territory of its small neighbours and has made multiple artificial islands in the South China Sea. Enlarging the sovereign rights of its neighbour’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Pacific region that is in the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and the South China Sea, China is intimidating the region’s countries & is a direct threat to the peace in the world.
After its trans-aggression in the Pacific region, China is now trying to make its presence in the Indian Ocean region. Although India has managed to counter its aggressive debt-trap port-hijacking diplomacy, a coordinated and simultaneous counter-strategy against China was the need of the hour and the Quad is the correct answer to it.
The Quad – Words to Action
The term was first coined by the former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007. The aim was to form a security dialogue platform with the ‘like-minded’ countries to counter China’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific region. Although, till now it is still a strategic security dialogue platform, the recent geopolitical situation is culminating the idea into a formal security organization to coordinate with the members.
The Ukraine war has cemented the idea that now the battlefield of the next conflict will be the Indo-Pacific as China is rapidly increasing its military presence in the region and continues to violate the international rules and laws.
The satellite launch is not a piece of isolated news, it is a formal announcement of the Quad members that now the dialogue is turning into action. It will pave the way for the common sharing of data and intelligence among members. It will also boost the cooperation of Quad members in the direction of security, weapons, and logistics support. Further, paving the way for a better counter-strategy against China.
