As US President Donald Trump begins his second term with a softer stance on China, observers believe the policy is still a “work in progress” and India will remain a key Quad partner for Washington as a counterweight to Beijing’s Indo-Pacific influence.
In a historic move, China sent Vice-President Han Zheng to attend Trump’s inauguration last week, a move widely seen as upbeat for US-China relations.
But also on Washington’s radar is the Quad – a security grouping consisting of India, Australia, Japan and the United States, that was formed in 2007 on the initiative of Japan’s then-prime minister, Shinzo Abe, to counter China’s growing influence and support an “open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific”.
Foreign affairs specialist Robinder Sachdev told This Week in Asia that the US continued to see India as a crucial partner in both the technology race and as a strategic counterbalance to China.
“India remains a vital US partner within the Quad framework. India’s growing influence and strategic positioning in the Indo-Pacific, coupled with its technological potential, ensure that its role remains vital in the evolving global order, irrespective of any temporary trade realignments between Washington and Beijing,” said Sachdev, founder president of The Imagindia Institute, a non-partisan New Delhi-based independent think tank and research centre.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi in Washington on January 21. Photo: Reuters
“The significance of the Quad can be gauged by the fact that one of the first official engagements of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, within a day of assuming office, included the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting, and discussions with Indian Foreign Minister [Subrahmanyam] Jaishankar,” Sachdev added.
