Officials of India, Australia, the US and Japan held the first quadrilateral (Quad) meeting on Sunday to boost cooperation and combat China's unilateral assertiveness in the region. It came a day ahead of a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump in the Philippine capital of Manila on the sidelines of the crucial ASEAN-India and East Asia summits.
Officials of India, Australia, the US and Japan held the first quadrilateral (Quad) meeting on Sunday to boost cooperation and combat China's unilateral assertiveness in the region. It came a day ahead of a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump in the Philippine capital of Manila on the sidelines of the crucial ASEAN-India and East Asia summits.
Quad attains significant as it is the first occasion when India outstretched itself beyond the region to play a key role in building a new rule-based international order.
China expressed resentment at the setting up of a new Great Game to undermine its international influence from Indian Ocean to Pacific to the shores of African nations. Chinese Foreign Ministry has expressed hope that the dialogue is not used for "targeting or damaging third party's interest".
Politicians, industry leaders and experts are also converging in India during December 11-14 for the Global Partnership Summit (GPS) to fine-tune and strategise on cooperation. Chaired by Japan's ruling party chief Toshihiro Nikai and co-chaired by Rajya Sabha MP Dr Subhash Chandra, GPS will provide alternative developmental models to countries in the Indo-Pacific region which are threatened by China's predatory economics.
The Ministry of External Affairs said on Sunday that officials from four countries held consultations on issues of common interest in the Indo-Pacific region. The four countries agreed that a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region serves the long-term interests of all. The officials exchanged views on addressing challenges of terrorism and proliferation linkages impacting the region as well as on enhancing connectivity.
The Indian side highlighted India's Act East Policy as the cornerstone of its engagement in the Indo-Pacific region.
The concept of quadrilateral dialogue was mooted in 2007 but didn't make any progress. It was revived recently by the Japanese Foreign Minister.
In its sharp reaction, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said, "We hope the collaboration among relevant countries could comply with the trend of times, which refers to peace, development, cooperation and shared benefits, and conform to the prospect of... common security and development."
On October 18, US Secretary of State Rex W Tillerson said talks were on between the countries to create alternative financing mechanisms. "We will not be able to compete with the kind of terms that China offers, but countries have to decide: What are they willing to pay to secure their sovereignty and their future control of their economies And we've had those discussions with them, as well," he said.
The initiative is also significant as India had boycotted the OBOR summit in Beijing on the grounds that connectivity projects cannot be unilateral initiatives, must respect sovereignty and have transparent funding.
At the ASEAN summit, China's aggressive military manoeuvre in the disputed South China Sea, North Korea's nuclear missile tests and overall security architecture in the region will come up for discussion.
On the sidelines, Modi is likely to have a series of bilateral meetings with a number of leaders including Trump, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Russian Premier Dmitry Medvedev.
India's proposal to host an international conference on countering radicalisation may also be discussed during the deliberations at Manila as New Delhi is now looking at finalising the dates for the conclave.
Modi will also participate in the ASEAN business and investment summit as well as a meeting of leaders of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The RCEP, comprising 10-member ASEAN bloc and six other countries - India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand - is engaged in negotiations for a free trade pact.
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