India’s ‘Quad’ ties will be informal for now

Subject

India's relations with its 'Quad' partners.

Significance

India appears to be moving towards a four-country defence and security axis -- ‘the Quad’ -- with the United States, Japan and Australia. The chiefs of the four countries' navies shared a panel in Delhi in January, with the discussion focusing on Chinese activities across a region that Washington now describes as the ‘Indo-Pacific’.

Impacts

• Russia will continue to be a key arms supplier to India even as Delhi deepens defence relations with Washington.
• Former Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will likely become a special envoy to China.
• Australia and Japan will sign an agreement for their militaries to conduct joint drills in each other’s countries.
• Further US ‘freedom of navigation’ operations in the South China Sea would antagonise Beijing.