New Delhi: The ‘Quad’ got back together for the second time this year and highlighted the need for building connectivity infrastructure without increasing the debt burden. They also discussed the constitutional crisis in Sri Lanka and transition in the Maldives.
On Thursday evening (November 15), senior officials from India, Australia, Japan and the US met in Singapore in the ‘Quad’ format – though the term is not officially used by any of the participating countries.
India was represented by joint secretaries in charge of Americas and East Asia at this third meeting of the Quad since its revival in November 2017 on the periphery of the East Asia Summit in Manila. They had last met in June on the sidelines of the gathering of senior officials for discussions on East Asia Summit and other ASEAN-led mechanisms in Singapore.
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As usual, separate press statements were again issued this year – all of them slightly different from each other to reflect national priorities, but batting jointly for a “free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific”.
India once again the outlier
In tandem with previous occasions, the press statements from Australia, Japan and the US were similar with nearly identical phrases. India remained the outlier on many themes highlighted by the other three.
While India noted that ‘regional developments’ were discussed at the meeting, there were no further details on the topics. However, the rest of the Quad noted that the discussions include Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
The US state department’s press release also used the examples of the two South Asian countries to show the importance of a coordinated approach.
US officials underscored the importance of coordinated and complementary engagement to advance shared regional interests, including support for the new Maldivian government and encouragement of an outcome to political developments in Sri Lanka consistent with democratic principles.
India’s lack of mention of either of the two countries in its statement is not surprising as New Delhi is more reticent about publicising diplomatic moves related to its immediate neighbourhood.
India has remained relatively silent in the current constitutional crisis in Sri Lanka, in contrast to the Western countries who had called repeatedly on President Maithripala Sirisena to reconvene parliament.
Comparison of press releases issued by the US, India, Japan and Australia after the meeting on June 7, 2018.
New Delhi skips mention of South China Sea dispute
Unlike the rest of the Quad, there was also no mention in India’s statement about “freedom of navigation and overflight”, which is an implicit reference to China’s aggressive position on the South China Sea dispute. India has skipped mention of these phrases in its statements issued after previous meetings as well.
There was also no allusion of “shared” interests from the Indian side – except New Delhi’s communique noting that the Indo-Pacific region was shared by the four countries “with other partners”.
Echoing earlier meetings, the three developed countries committed to maintaining and strengthening the rules-based order in Indo-Pacific. India, though, says that it wants to promote a rule-based order, implying the region still hasn’t got one yet.
Unlike in June, the statements from Japan, Australia and the US this time did not repeat the assertion that the four participating countries had common democratic values. The trio specifically mentioned the Indian-Ocean Rim Association and the Pacific Islands Forum as regional institutions which should be supported.
Shared need for building connectivity infrastructure
While there were slight divergences, there was also a running theme through all the four press releases about the need for building connectivity infrastructure in the region, but without the baggage of a debt burden.
“They committed to strengthening connectivity and quality infrastructure based on sovereignty, equality and territorial integrity of all nations, as well as transparency, economic viability and financial responsibility,” said the statement from Indian external affairs ministry.
This was an obvious reference to China’s Belt and Road Initiative which India and the West largely view as a strategic project to expand influence in smaller countries by increasing their financial and economic dependence on Beijing.
Both the US and Australian statements asserted that connectivity projects in the region had to be based on “genuine need” and “avoiding unsustainable debt burden”.
Position of Vietnam
All four reiterated that ASEAN was central to the concept of the Indo-Pacific, which the South East Asian countries had also discussed at their meeting in Singapore.
“We discussed the initiative to develop ASEAN’s collective cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region which embraces key principles such as ASEAN centrality, openness, transparency, inclusivity and a rules-based approach, in order to enhance mutual trust, respect and benefit,” said the chairman’s statement of the 33rd ASEAN Summit.
The ambiguity in the region about the formation of the Quad was reflected by the newly-accredited Vietnamese ambassador to India, Pham Sanh Chau, who said that his country did not want the region to be a battleground for major powers.
“Vietnam welcomes any initiative for maintenance of peace, security, freedom of navigation and overflight in the region. However, we do not want to see a military alliance formed because we believe that it is not conducive to the security environment in the region,” he said on Thursday.
Vietnam has been one of the more vocal countries in ASEAN who have a dispute with China over the oil-rich South China Sea. However, even Vietnam doesn’t want to antagonise China, which is its biggest trading partner.
“If any country wants to gang up, use force or trying to use force, then it goes against the position of Vietnam,” he said.
India has been particularly sensitive to the unease in Southeast Asia about the revival of the ‘Quad’ and its projection as an antidote to the rise of China. That’s why Indian officials have repeatedly asserted that the ‘Quad’ is only one of many plurilateral formats that New Delhi has participated in recent years.