Quad meets in Tokyo, but fails to move closer to becoming a NATO-like joint front against China in Indo-Pacific

Despite stand-off along LAC, India – like Japan and Australia – avoids echoing US, refrains from directly slamming China for Covid-19, expansionism

India, Japan, Australia and the United States failed to come out with a joint statement after a much-hyped ministerial meeting of the Quad in Tokyo on Tuesday, although the four nations agreed to work out “a common vision for the Indo-Pacific”, where they seek to counter the growing belligerence of China.

With the soldiers of the Indian Army resisting Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s moves to occupy vast swathes of its land in eastern Ladakh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called for “respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty”, as he joined the United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, and the Foreign Ministers of Japan and Australia, Toshimitsu Motegi and Maris Payne, for the meeting in Tokyo.

Jaishankar, Pompeo, Motegi and Payne discussed the post-Covid-19 international order. New Delhi, however, avoided echoing the US and refrained from blaming China for the pandemic. It also avoided naming the communist country and criticizing it directly for its growing aggression and expansionism.

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India apparently treaded cautiously as it was keen to dispel the perception that the five-month-long military stand-off along its disputed boundary with China was pushing it closer to the US.

“We remain committed to upholding the rules-based international order, underpinned by the rule of law, transparency, freedom of navigation in the international seas, respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty and peaceful resolution of disputes,” Jaishankar said in his opening remarks in the meeting.

The External Affairs Minister also had bilateral meetings with the US Secretary of State as well as the Foreign Ministers of Australia and Japan. The four also had a meeting with new Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

India, Japan, Australia and the US re-launched the Quad in November 2017 as a coalition of four democracies to counter hegemonic aspirations of China in the Indo-Pacific region. The diplomats of the four nations had several rounds of consultation and the first ministerial meet was held in New York in September 2019.

What, however, added to the significance of the Quad’s second ministerial meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday was the fact that it was held in the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, which was caused by a virus that was first reported at Wuhan in China. It was also the first ministerial meeting of the informal coalition of the four democracies after the communist country stepped up its belligerence – not only along its disputed boundary with India but in the South China Sea, East China Sea and elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region too.

The four nations, however, could not come out with a joint statement after the meeting and issued readouts separately in New Delhi, Tokyo, Canberra and Washington D.C.

The statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi tacitly acknowledged that the four nations were yet to reconcile divergence in views about dealing with China in the Indo-Pacific region. It noted that the External Affairs Minister, the US Secretary of State and the Foreign Ministers of Japan and Australia had “highlighted” during the meeting “their readiness to work towards realizing a common vision for the Indo-Pacific.”

They discussed the post-Covid-19 international order and called for a coordinated response to the challenges, including financial problems emanating from the pandemic. They stressed on the need to share best practices to combat the SARS-CoV-2, increasing the resilience of supply chains, ostensibly to lessen dependence on China. They also exchanged views on enhancing access to affordable vaccines, medicines and medical equipment to fight the pandemic.

Pompeo blamed the Communist Party of China for the Covid-19 pandemic. “We couldn’t have imagined the pandemic that came from Wuhan (China). That crisis was made infinitely worse by the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup,” the US Secretary of State alleged in his opening remarks, adding: “The regime’s authoritarian nature led its leaders to lock up and silence the very brave Chinese citizens who were raising the alarm.”

Jaishankar, Payne and Motegi, however, avoided blaming the Chinese Government for the pandemic. “The events of this year have clearly demonstrated how imperative it is for like-minded countries to coordinate responses to the various challenges that the pandemic has brought to the fore,” the External Affairs Minister said in his speech at the meeting. “As we collectively navigate these uncharted waters, we seek to emerge from the pandemic more resilient than ever before.”

Pompeo also criticized China for its aggression along its Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India as well as elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region.

“I also look forward to renewing our resolve to protect our precious freedoms and the sovereignty of the diverse nations of the region,” he said, adding: “As partners in this Quad, it is more critical now than ever that we collaborate to protect our people and partners from the CCP’s exploitation, corruption, and coercion. We have seen it in the south, in the East China Sea, the Mekong, the Himalayas, the Taiwan Straits. These are just a few examples.”

Jaishankar did not directly refer to China but said: “As vibrant and pluralistic democracies with shared values, our nations have affirmed collectively the importance of maintaining a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific.

“Our objective remains advancing the security and the 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,” the External Affairs Minister said.

New Delhi treaded cautiously as it was not keen to send out a signal about India’s own vision for Indo-Pacific region turning overtly adversarial to China. The five-month-long military stand-off between the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA in eastern Ladakh has brought the relations between the two neighbouring nations to a new low. But a section within the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government still has reservation about going the whole hog and allowing New Delhi to be seen as a zealous participant in the Quad, which is largely seen as a US-led move to bring the democratic nations of the Indo-Pacific region together in order to build a bulwark against expansionist and hegemonic aspirations of China.

What added to New Delhi’s cautious approach on the Quad is Russia’s unease over India’s participation in the US-led move against China in Indo-Pacific. Moscow has been engaged in quiet back-channel talks with New Delhi and Beijing to defuse tension between the two neighbouring nations.

New Delhi is also not keen to rely much on the US. A section within the Modi Government believes that the US might tone down its rhetoric against China after the November 3 presidential elections, no matter what the outcome of the polls might be.