India is rather too cautious on the Quad

New Delhi may choose to respect China’s sensitivities; Beijing won’t reciprocate

India has once again decided to reject Australia’s participation in the Malabar naval exercises. After the resumption of the quadrilateral dialogue, or the Quad, between India, the US, Japan and Australia in 2017, most analysts had assumed that Australia would soon be allowed in the Malabar exercises. But Canberra has found it tough to woo New Delhi. India has also rebuffed suggestions from the US to elevate the Quad dialogue to foreign secretary level from the current setup of joint secretary level talks.

It is no surprise that India is now increasingly being considered the weakest link in the Quad. One of the reasons India has been refusing Australia’s entry into Malabar is that it is not sure that the current tensions between Australia and China will outlast the stint of a Labor government in Canberra. It is also believed that India fears that quadrilateral naval exercises will invite reprisals from China.

However, it has been proven that respecting China’s sensitivities is a one-way street; Beijing doesn’t respect New Delhi’s sensitivities in return. Indeed, a quadrilateral exercise will send out a message to China. But it will also send a much needed message to countries in Southeast Asia which are afraid to confront China on their own. Moreover, these exercises aren’t merely about messaging. They are about building joint procedures to work together in crisis situations. A crisis need not be triggered only by China’s activities but could well be the result of a tinpot dictator in the region or due to some natural disaster in the shared maritime space. It is high time India stopped dragging its feet on Australian participation in the Malabar exercises.