Tuesday, 20 October 2020 | PNS | New Delhi
It is a sign of closer ties among Quad nations against China’s expansionist design
Sending a strong message to China by brushing aside its objection, the Malabar series of naval exercises this year will see the participation of Australia too, a clear signal about the forging of closer cooperation among the Quad nations against the backdrop of Beijing’s expansionist designs.
So far, only India, the US and Japan used to take part in the annual exercise. Australia had participated in the exercise in 2007 as a non-permanent member. But, subsequently, China claimed that with Australia joining the exercise, the Quad is getting militarised and may pose a threat to Chinese interests especially in the Pacific region.
Given Beijing’s reservations, India had been withholding Australia’s participation since then despite the latter’s keenness. Not anymore. The Defence Ministry on Monday made it clear: India seeks to increase cooperation with other countries in the maritime security domain and in the light of increased defence cooperation with Australia, “Exercise Malabar 2020” will see the participation of the Australian Navy.
It also said that the members collectively support a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific and remain committed to a rules-based international order.
The “non-contact — at sea” format-based exercise is expected to be held in Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. Sources said it was likely to be held in two phases in the first week of November and then after a fortnight.
The proposal for Australian participation was mooted three years back and since then talks were on at various levels of the Government. The exercise will strengthen the coordination between the Navies of the participating countries, officials said.
The exercises started in 1992 as a bilateral Indian Navy-US Navy exercise. Japan joined the exercise in 2015.
The move to include Australia comes at a time when India and China are engaged in a military stand-off for the past more than five months at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh. The two sides have held several rounds of talks to break the stalemate but no success so far.
Moreover, the announcement comes days after Foreign Ministers of Quadrilateral Strategic Dialogue or Quad met in Tokyo.
The issue of Australia’s inclusion in the Malabar exercise had come up for discussion there between S Jaishankar, Mike Pompeo (US), Marise Payne (Australia) and Toshimitsu Motegi (Japan). Japan and the US had been pressing for Australia’s inclusion for the past few years.
Also, the nod for Australian participation by India comes days before the annual 2+2 talks between the Foreign and Defence Ministers of India and US are likely to take place in New Delhi on October 26-27.
In his opening remarks at the Quad meeting on October 6, Jaishankar had said New Delhi is committed to peaceful resolution of disputes, rules based world order and respect for territorial integrity.
He also said the four democratic countries favour a free and open India-Pacific region. Jaishankar, however, refrained from naming China.
This was the second Minister level meeting of the Quad countries in the last two years. Moreover, the two-day conclave was the first against the backdrop of ongoing tension between India and China at the LAC in Ladakh and coronavirus pandemic.
Jaishankar had held a two-hour long bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on September 10 in Moscow to end the logjam at the border.
Spelling out India’s stand, he said it was for advancing the security and economic interests of all countries having legitimate and vital interests in the region. “It is a matter of satisfaction that the Indo-Pacific concept has gained increasingly wider acceptance,” he said.
Highlighting the growing importance of the Quad, he also said the fact that the four Foreign Ministers were meeting in person, despite the global pandemic, is “testimony to the importance that these consultations have gained, particularly in recent times”. He added, “Our world is significantly different today than what it was when we last met in New York in September 2019.”
