India needs more than Quad revival

A thaw in India-US ties calls for work on other fronts as well. Meanwhile, India must continue prioritising its interests unabashedly

If the secretary of State of the US, Marco Rubio, is to be believed, Washington is now keen on resuscitating Quad, a grouping New Delhi once saw as a West-facing platform to exert influence. Rubio hinted at Donald Trump’s intent to get Quad roaring, with a potential meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in November, in an effort clearly aimed at mitigating some of the impacts of the US’s foreign policy. Whether partners other than the US find merit in this move is another story.

Rubio hinted at Donald Trump’s intent to get Quad roaring, with a potential meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in November, in an effort clearly aimed at mitigating some of the impacts of the US’s foreign policy. (HT Archive)

To be sure, India and the US have common interests in the Asia-Pacific region but keep getting distracted by the noise elsewhere. Converging on the idea of limiting China’s influence in the region, the US wants its defence treaty allies such as South Korea and the Philippines and key strategic partners such as Taiwan to be unperturbed by China’s growing influence, whereas India wants a technological boost in maritime security. But the US now perceives India as unwilling to get into a direct confrontation with China; New Delhi’s abstentions from US votes condemning Russia haven’t helped, though Washington itself has blown hot and cold on its relationship with Moscow. In the absence of any serious financial commitments, the US has convinced itself that India can be bypassed in its Asia agenda. This has been borne out by its sudden pivot towards Pakistan.

The current icy spell in India-US ties is unlikely to thaw because of a resurrected Quad. A suspension of the Graham Act tariffs on the eve of Rubio’s India visit may only be relevant in terms of getting New Delhi and Washington to a table where the two States can discuss their disagreements, despite Trump’s comments soon after about a deal with India being “pretty close”.

Given Trump’s anxieties surrounding the midterm elections, Rubio’s visits to Jamnagar, home to the world’s biggest refinery, and Uzbekistan, a top producer of natural oil and uranium, needs to be seen in the larger context of the heightened cost of living (due to rising fuel prices) discourse in the US. Whether Quad is back on its feet or not, India must continue prioritising its interests unabashedly.