Biden’s indo pacific gambit with washington serious about the region new delhi must fully join efforts to counterbalance beijing

Biden’s indo pacific gambit with washington serious about the region new delhi must fully join efforts to counterbalance beijing

Ahead of the Quad leaders’ summit tomorrow, US President Joe Biden once again asserted that Washington would militarily defend Taiwan if Beijing were to invade the self-governing island. Biden has made similar comments before only for the White House to walk them back. This time too the administration reaffirmed that there was no change in its China-Taiwan policy. But Biden repeatedly highlighting a commitment to defend Taiwan cannot be an accident. In fact, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US and its allies have framed their response to Moscow’s aggression in terms of deterring possible Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific. And there can be no denying that the Quad summit in Japan has a China focus.

Actually, concerns about China have also catalysed the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) that aims to strengthen economic partnership among participating countries with the objective of enhancing resilient supply chains, inclusive economic growth, fairness and competitiveness in the Indo-Pacific region. In short, IPEF will try to counter China’s economic dominance in the region and weaponisation of economic interdependencies. It is in fact another way for the US to economically engage the region after former president Donald Trump pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade accord in 2017.

Importantly, India is joining the IPEF along with South Korea, Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the US. This means that New Delhi will be part of Washington’s counter to Beijing in some form. In fact, given China’s open belligerence towards India, especially along the LAC, New Delhi should drop its ambivalence about militarising the Quad. The grouping can’t just be a platform for economic cooperation and exchange of ideas. It also needs to have a strong military-security pillar. With the US firmly pivoting towards Asia, this is India’s opportunity to not only plug into the Indo-Pacific growth story but also counterbalance and push China towards the rules-based path.