International Relations Current Affairs UPSC Exam 2022 Lecture 1

Table of Contents

QUAD

Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) is the informal strategic dialogue between India, USA, Japan and Australia with a shared objective to ensure and support a “free, open and prosperous” Indo-Pacific region.
The idea of Quad was first mooted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007. However, the idea couldn’t move ahead with Australia pulling out of it, apparently due to Chinese pressure.

Quad Nations and China

USA: USA had followed a policy to contain China’s increasing influence in East Asia. Therefore, USA sees the coalition as an opportunity to regain its influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
- The US has described China, along with Russia, as a strategic rival in its National Security Strategy, National Defence Strategy and the Pentagon’s report on Indo-Pacific Strategy.
Australia: Australia is concerned about China’s growing interest in its land, infrastructure and politics, and influence on its universities.
- Taking into account its overwhelming economic dependence on China for prosperity, Australia has continued its commitment to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with China.
Japan: In the last decade, Japan has expressed concerns related to China’s territorial transgression in the region.
- Trade volume with China remains the key lifeline to the Japanese economy, where net exports contributed exactly one-third of Japan’s economic growth since the beginning of 2017.
  - Therefore, considering its importance, Japan is balancing its economic needs and territorial concerns with China
- Japan has also agreed to involve in the Belt and Road Initiative by participating in infrastructure programs in third country. In this way, Japan can mitigate Chinese influence in those countries while improving relations with China.
India: In recent years, China’s violation of international norms, particularly its construction of military facilities on reclaimed islands in the South China Sea, and its growing military and economic power, pose a strategic challenge to India.

Importance of QUAD for India

Countering Chinese Influence: Recent stand-offs on the Indo-China Border and the reluctance of Russia to step in and build pressure is forcing India to look for alternatives.
Post-COVID Diplomacy: The disruption across the world and non-transparent systems of China pose an opportunity for India to take lead and become the World’s Manufacturing Hub.
- India can leverage its expertise in the vaccine and pharma industry to increase its soft power.
- Further, Japan and the US want to shift their manufacturing companies out of China in order to curb its imperialistic behaviour.
Net Security Provider in the Indian Ocean: India under the SAGAR initiative wants to become a net security provider in the Indian Ocean.
- QUAD cooperation may give India access to multiple strategic locations for creating Naval bases.
Multipolar World: India has supported a rule-based multipolar world and QUAD can help it in achieving its ambition of becoming a regional superpower.

Challenges

China’s Territorial Claims
China’s Closeness to ASEAN
Economic Power of China
Convergence among Quad Nations

Way Forward

Strengthening Blue Dot Network: All four countries must pool their resources to check the Economic might of China, rather than just letting it function as a certification agency for infrastructure projects.
Coherent strategy: All the member countries must develop a unified approach to tackle China rather than act in Individual interests.
Formalise the talks: The formalisation may help to give QUAD a more structured format.
QUAD can be an effective tool to counter Chinese adventure and imperialism ambitions in the Indo-Pacific.

AUKUS

Australia, the US and the UK signed an agreement allowing the exchange of sensitive “naval nuclear propulsion information” between their nations.
- It is the first agreement on the technology to be publicly signed since the three countries announced the formation of a defence alliance, AUKUS, to confront strategic tensions in the Pacific where China-US rivalry is growing.
- Under the AUKUS deal, Australia would obtain eight state-of-the-art, nuclear-powered but conventionally armed submarines capable of stealthy, long-range missions.
About:
- In September 2021, the US announced a new trilateral security partnership for the Indo-Pacific, betweenAustralia, the UK and the US (AUKUS).
- The major highlight of this arrangement is the sharing of US nuclear submarine technology to Australia.
- Its Indo-pacific orientation makes it an alliance against China’s assertive actions in the South China Sea.
- It will involve a new architecture of meetings and engagements between the three countries, as well as cooperation across emerging technologies (applied AI, quantum technologies and undersea capabilities).

Impact on Indo-Pacific Realm/QUAD:

There is concern that AUKUS could leave a deep scar on US-EU relations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), and weaken the international coalition in the Indo-Pacific.
- NATO was established by the North Atlantic Treaty (also called the Washington Treaty) of 4^thApril, 1949, by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.
- NATO’s primary goals are the collective defence of its members and the maintenance of a democratic peace in the North Atlantic area.
France had cancelled a scheduled meeting of the foreign ministers of Australia, France, and India at the UN.
- In the last couple of years, the trilateral has become an important element in the emerging Indo-Pacific architecture. But the cancellation of the meeting is a blow to the trilateral engagement.
It is not clear whether the QUAD and AUKUS will reinforce each otheror remain mutually exclusive.
- There are some beliefs that the “Anglosphere nations” — which share common cultural and historical ties to the UK — inspire more confidence in each other.
- QUAD is a grouping of India, USA, Australia and Japan which aims to safeguard the interests of democratic nations in the Indo-Pacific region and address global challenges.

Implications for India:

India has stated that the new partnership is neither relevant to the Quad, nor will it have any impact on its functioning.
Despite indifference towards AUKUS, India may derive secondary benefits from the AUKUS arrangement having three advanced nations with arguably the most sophisticated military power in the world coming together to support a free and open Indo-Pacific in the light of the increasingly assertive attitude of China in the region. This could provide some degree of deterrence to China.
Also, India’s concerns regarding ‘encirclement’ by China may be partially mitigated by AUKUS.
- China has made massive inroads in India’s neighbourhood in terms of infrastructure development projects and presence.
There is apprehension, the deal may eventually lead to crowding of nuclear attack submarines (SSNs/submersible ship nuclear) in the Eastern Indian Ocean, eroding India’s regional pre-eminence.

Way Forward

While the warming of the Indo-US relationship brings comfort to Indians, India should beware of hyperbole, obscuring reality, in the bilateral discourse.

- - American offers of help “to make India a great power” and declarations that “two of the world’s great democracies should also have the world’s two greatest militaries,” must be taken with a generous pinch of salt.
We need all the technologies being offered to Australia, in addition to “know-how” and “know-why” of much else, including stealth fighters, jet engines, advanced radars and nuclear propulsion for submarines as well as aircraft-carriers.
As India discovers that every European nation, from tiny Luxembourg to a rising Poland, has something to offer, Europe has become a thriving hub of India’s international relations.
- The last few years have seen an intensification of India’s strategic engagement with France. For example, the government has overcome the earlier reluctance in Delhi to work with France on Indian Ocean security.
One is to remind France, Australia, the UK and US of the shared interests in securing the Indo-Pacific and the dangers of letting the current quarrel undermine that larger goal.

I2U2

The US administration has named the new grouping as “I2U2” — “I” for India and Israel and “U” for the US and UAE. This was earlier referred as West Asian Quad.
- US President Joe Biden will host a virtual summit with PM Modi, Israel PM Naftali Bennett and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during his visit to West Asia from July 13 to 16.

I2U2 Initiative

Following the Abraham Accords between Israel and the UAE, I2U2 was founded in October 2021 to address marine security, infrastructure, and transportation challenges in the region.
It was known as the ‘International Forum for Economic Cooperation’at the time.
At that time, UAE had referred to the new grouping as the ‘West Asian Quad’.
UAE forming sharing desk with Israel is no easy deal. Arab sentiments against Israel and their proposition for Anti-Semitism are well known.

SIGNIFICANCE

I2U2 seeks to empower the partners and encourages them to collaborate more closely, resulting in a more stable region.
- India is seen as a large consumer market as well as a large producer of high-tech and highly sought-after items in the United States.
- This has led India to enhance its relationship with Israel without jeopardising its ties with the UAE and other Arab states.

Abraham Accords

The Israel–UAE normalization agreement is officially called the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement.
It was initially agreed to in a joint statement by the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on August 13, 2020.
The UAE thus became the third Arab country, after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994, to agree to formally normalize its relationship with Israel as well as the first Persian Gulf country to do so.
Concurrently, Israel agreed to suspend plans for annexing parts of the West Bank. The agreement normalized what had long been informal but robust foreign relations between the two countries.