No political or security analyst could have anticipated a little more than a year ago when Joe Biden took office as President of the United States that four meetings of The Quad would take place within a span of 15 months! President Biden surprised all his detractors by hitting the ground running and by organizing the first virtual meeting of the foreign ministers of the Quad nations in mid-February, 2020, and a virtual Summit among the leaders of the four countries in March, 2020. This was followed by an in-person meeting in Washington DC in September, 2021 and again a virtual Summit in March this year. The fact that four Quad Summits, including the one on 24^th March, 2022, have been organized in 14 months is not only unprecedented, but also testimony to the commitment and determination of the four member countries to realize its objectives.

Since the first Quad Summit in March last year, the Grouping has gone from strength to strength. The fact that Biden was willing to travel to Tokyo when a war in Europe is still raging is proof that Biden and the US have not taken their eyes off the Quad and that countering and balancing China in the Indo-Pacific region and the wider world continues to be the US’s most critical challenge.

The Ukraine Conflict

Some apprehensions were expressed before the Summit that Ukraine might hijack the discussions at the Summit.  USA, Japan and Australia are on the same page as far as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is concerned and the death, carnage and destruction wreaked by it. The Indian position is however slightly different. India feels compelled to maintain its legacy relations with Russia, particularly in import of defence and military equipment.

There is broad understanding of the Indian stance amongst its western interlocutors. This was demonstrated during the India-US 2+2 meeting on 11^th April, 2022 at which President Joe Biden and Prime Minster Narendra Modi also interacted with each other virtually. Discussions on the Russia-Ukraine conflict also took place when PM Modi visited Germany, Denmark (for bilateral and the second India-Nordic Summit) and France. In all these deliberations, a reference to the inviolability of the UN Charter and principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty of nations, as well as to the human sufferings in Ukraine was made in the Joint Statements, but the issue was not allowed to overshadow deliberations in other areas.

Similar was the case in the discussions in Tokyo. Ukraine does find a brief mention but major part of the Joint Statement is devoted to cooperation amongst the four countries and more for promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.

The China Factor

Pushing back against the expansionist policy of China in the South China Sea, East China Sea and elsewhere was the raison d’etre of revival of the Quad and the Indo-Pacific in 2017. Although China does not find a mention explicitly in the Joint Statement, there are several references which clearly and unmistakably point towards China and its activities. The Joint Statement says that the Grouping strongly supports ‘’the principles of freedom, rule of law, democratic values, sovereignty and territorial integrity, peaceful settlement of disputes without resorting to threat or use of force, any unilateral attempt to change the status quo, and freedom of navigation and over flight, all of which are essential to the peace, stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region and to the world.’’ The vision of a free, open, resilient, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific has been reiterated. All these declarations are directed at China because of its policies of creating artificial islands, and occupying and militarizing islands, shoals and reefs which according to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 belong to other countries in the region. In a specific reference to China’s activities in the region, the leaders declare that they ‘’will champion adherence to international law, particularly as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the maintenance of freedom of navigation and over flight, to meet challenges to the maritime rules-based order, including in the East and South China Seas.’’

The Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) initiative, launched on the sidelines of the Summit, is also designed to counter China’s activities of illegal fishing in the waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It aims to work with regional partners to respond to humanitarian and natural disasters, and combat illegal fishing. IPMDA seeks to ‘’support and work in consultation with Indo-Pacific nations and regional information fusion centers in the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands by providing technology and training to support enhanced, shared maritime domain awareness to promote stability and prosperity in the seas and oceans.’’ It is estimated that China is responsible for about 95% of illegal fishing in these waters and beyond. This is a first step in the process of making China follow and abide by international law and rules on this issue. This was a subject discussed during the US-ASEAN Summit too that took place in Washington DC on 12-13 May, 2022. At that Summit, the US offered the deployment of a Coast Guard vessel to the region to help bolster the region’s maritime security and combat what has been described as China’s illicit fishing.

Terrorism

The Joint Statement contains explicit and far-reaching references to action against terrorism. The leaders condemned ‘’unequivocally terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations and reiterated that there can be no justification for acts of terror on any grounds whatsoever.’’ They denounced ‘’the use of terrorist proxies and emphasized the importance of denying any logistical, financial or military support to terrorist groups which could be used to launch or plan terror attacks, including cross-border attacks.’’ They reiterated their ‘’condemnation of terrorist attacks, including 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks.’’ Needless to say, all these references are directed against the terrorist policies and activities of Pakistan.

The Joint Statement

The Joint Statement contains ambitious goals and objectives relating to Infrastructure (the leaders decided to make available more than US$50 billion over the next five years for infrastructure development in the Indo-Pacific region); Covid-19 and healthcare (Quad countries provided at least 265 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to Indo-Pacific nations); cyber security; climate change (launch of the “Quad Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Package (Q-CHAMP)” with “mitigation” and “adaptation” as its two themes); critical and emergent technologies (leverage their complementary capacities to strengthen global semiconductor supply chains); Quad Fellowship Programme (bring 100 students from the four countries to the United States each year to pursue graduate degrees in STEM fields); Space; unwavering support for ASEAN unity and centrality; crisis in Myanmar (grave humanitarian suffering and challenges to regional stability posed by it); complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and condemnation of North Korea’s destabilizing ballistic missile development and launches, etc.

As can be observed the Joint Statement is detailed, comprehensive and lofty. The challenge will be to realize the objectives contained in the Declaration over a finite time-frame.

Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) Initiative

India along with Japan and ten other countries joined the United States in the launch of the IPEF Initiative. These countries together account for 40% of the world GDP. This is not a traditional free trade agreement but is designed to promote economic connectivity, resilience, sustainability and accountability. India’s membership of this would be useful as it is not a member of the other two Indo-Pacific economic initiatives viz. RCEP and CPTPP. IPEF is designed to address issues like supply chain resilience, digitization, climate change, infrastructure and decarbonization, and tax and anticorruption. More details are yet to become available but IPEF has the potential to evolve into a major regional economic arrangement.

Bilaterals

In his interaction with President Biden, PM Modi termed the bilateral relations as a ‘’Partnership of Trust.’’ President Biden said that he would like to make US relations with India ‘’among the closest we have on earth.’’ The two Leaders reviewed the progress in bilateral ties and committed themselves to take them forward at a rapid pace.

In the interaction with Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, the two leaders agreed to further enhance bilateral security and defence cooperation, including in the area of defence manufacturing. PM Modi appreciated that Japanese companies were increasing their investments in India and that 24 Japanese companies had successfully applied under the various PLI schemes.

In the meeting with the Australian PM Anthony Albanese, both leaders reviewed the multi-faceted cooperation under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and affirmed their desire to continue the positive momentum in the bilateral relationship.

Conclusion

While responding to a question at a Press Meet in Tokyo, President Biden stated that the United States would come to the aid of Taiwan militarily if it was attacked by China. This seemingly sought to end the strategic ambiguity of the US on the issue although both Biden and the White House later said that there was no change in US policy. Biden’s comment invited a sharp riposte from China warning the US that it should not underestimate China’s resolve on the unification of Taiwan with the Chinese mainland.

On 24^th May, the day of the Summit, air drills in the Sea of Japan were conducted by Chinese and Russian aircrafts. This resulted in the scrambling of their own fighter aircrafts by Japan and ROK. It would appear that even after the rather disastrous performance by the Russian military in Ukraine, the ‘’no limit’’ partnership between China and Russia continues to be strong.

PM Modi’s leadership in effectively dealing with the Covid-19 challenge and development of several vaccines in India received unstinted applause and praise from the other leaders. President Biden said that PM Modi had proved that ‘’democracies can deliver.’’ He said that India’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic was a huge success as compared to China which had failed in this endeavor. Australian PM Albanese said that supplying vaccines was much better than winning a theoretical debate of ideas. Japanese PM Kishida said that Indian made vaccines were received with gratitude by Cambodia and Thailand.

The one-day Quad Summit was a huge shot in the arm to the four-nation partnership. The agenda as delineated by the countries is bold and impressive. The challenge would now be to ensure that it is implemented in a realistic time-frame so that the results become visible to the Indo-Pacific region soon. This would encourage the regional countries to view the Grouping as a ‘’force for good’’ as declared by PM Modi. The Quad nations appear to be cognizant of this challenge. The Joint Statement states that in their first year of cooperation, the Quad nations established a positive and practical agenda; in the second year, they will deliver on their promise, making the region more resilient for the 21^st century. The coming years promise to be full of excitement and action.

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Although quoted as pre-arranged training manoeuvres, such instances where international summits of various groups are intimidated when their heads of state or government are meeting, is a new norm in the developing strategic tension of the world; an awkward method of strategic communication, to say the least. The Russians appear to have shed inhibitions and have come clearly on the Chinese side thus creating more distinct battlelines in the Indo Pacific region, something they were more reluctant to do before the war in Ukraine.

Ever since the not so elegant US withdrawal from Afghanistan on 31 August 2021 and then after outbreak of the three-month-old war in Ukraine, President Joe Biden’s ability to balance US interests in the Indo Pacific had been held in check. Getting out of Afghanistan and the stabilization of West Asia with reasonable success, were supposed to pave the way for enhanced US focus towards the Indo Pacific.

However, the crisis in Ukraine has activated the European theatre in no small way. China’s assessment was likely veering towards the belief that the US would be unable to find the ability to simultaneously focus on Europe and the Indo Pacific. Yet, despite Joe Biden’s recent record low approval ratings, he has been decisive in attempting to ensure that the Indo Pacific remains in US sight. The run up to and the conduct of the high-profile Quad summit has definitely demonstrated US intent towards preventing diversion from the larger goal of preventing China’s unbridled domination over its neighbourhood and its natural extension which happens to be a crucial strategic zone for US interests.

A lot was packed into the summit attended by the four member nations; US, Australia, Japan and India. It provided Prime Minister Narendra Modi the opportunity to delve into relevant aspects of foreign policy, strategic security and economic issues all in a very short time. The relevance of giving substance to the Look East policy, although in a different context, cannot be lost especially so soon after PM Modi completed his first physical foreign tour of 2022 with his visit to Germany, Denmark and France. The latter visit was praised for the transformational content in its outreach and putting ‘Look West’ also on the radar.

To counter China’s economic dominance of the Indo Pacific a fresh economic arrangement proposed by President Joe Biden has found favour with India. The Indo Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) seeks to counter China’s influence with creating integrated, resilient and clean economies. IPEF will be a group similar to RCEP (which India did not join due to China’s domination of the same) but without China, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos; the last three being China’s closest supporters. 13 nations are a part of IPEF which the US has termed as ‘non-free trade’ and ‘non-security’ in outlook.

IPEF obviously has a strategic orientation without being security branded. It will be another platform through which the US hopes to take on board many like-minded states which have been chary of China’s ways. The IPEF initiative, primarily a step to facilitate and urge member nations to decouple themselves from the Chinese stranglehold, was also a part of the larger communication strategy at play by the US. This included the demonstration of commitment to the Indo Pacific, across domains. The event preceded the Quad summit by a day but set the tone in no small measure. In fact, it brought body to the Quad Plus process, bringing important nations such as South Korea, Vietnam and Philippines (all important stakeholders) besides many other important ASEAN states and included New Zealand, thus taking concerns further deep into the South Pacific.

The most important item in the series of engagements underway at Tokyo was the Quad summit itself. While a divergence in views on the war in Ukraine was expected and did arise, there was total unanimity in the response of the four nations; US, Australia, Japan and India.

PM Narendra Modi has been a part of the Quad leadership quartet the longest and therefore brings institutional knowledge and wisdom to the group. PM Anthony Albanese of Australia came to Tokyo within hours of his swearing in ceremony and will obviously be a very important personality, especially Australia’s role seems to be expanding with the potential entry of China into the South Pacific islands. Japanese PM Fumio Kishida has been around long enough to know the ropes of the Indo Pacific and it’s under his leadership that Japan is making further strides on the military front. Of course, it was Joe Biden’s total trust in India’s commitment to the Quad that ensured that no crack was allowed to widen.

Keeping the interests in the Indo Pacific bracketed away from the influence of events in other regions is a huge challenge itself. The maturing of the Quad was on display as each of the leaders gave their public statements on the basis of their views and perceived national interests. None of these clashed. The common purpose of bringing unanimity, to counter China’s belligerence, was achieved without any roadblocks small or big. China often brings coercive, provocative or unilateral actions seeking change in the status quo of the Indo Pacific. Against that it is the ‘rules-based order’ and the ‘open and free’ environment desired by the nations of the region against China’s disruptive strategies which has driven the success so far. However, the securitization of the Quad may yet be far and the desire to achieve that too remains in the grey zone.

While China may consider the Quad summit and the deliberations as provocation, India needs to be clear that its stakes also get enhanced. The quasi-security label gives the Quad the leeway to keep strategic issues on the agenda. However, Indian policy makers have always to be mindful of the fact that they have a common land border with China with several disputed areas. China also has a clear intent to keep India militarily engaged on the northern borders, as a part of a broader strategy to prevent its strategic rise in competition with China. The provocations by China against India in April 2020 made evident China’s discomfiture with India’s progressively gaining confidence. It was concluded by many analysts that these provocations would remain on China’s strategic agenda to force India to pull back from the Strategic Partnership with the US and its like-minded countries.

However, it’s a measure of India’s confidence that it has pursued its interests without any compromise. Perceived bumps which may have emerged on the road of Indo US relations in terms of India’s neutrality over Russia’s actions in Ukraine, seem to be getting ironed out with the US adopting an approach of strategic accommodation. President Joe Biden has been enormously supportive also, after initial misgivings. PM Modi’s personal record of governance especially when it came to handling the pandemic and the crisis with China was a factor which found ready praise.

On the bilateral side much was achieved in the one-on-one meetings with the other leaders by PM Narendra Modi. What is extremely important is the US President’s full commitment towards committing military resources for the security of Taiwan. The immediate future will witness a test of nerves as China checks out the US for its commitment. The Sino-Indian border which is currently quiet with negotiations ongoing is also likely to face some uncertainty. India has to be prepared for a showdown anywhere along the long border as a part of China’s messaging to the US camp. It’s the Russian linkage which will keep China in dilemma because it will make options for Russia extremely difficult and not getting Russian support for its ventures will dilute its stand.

May 2022 has been a good month for Indian Foreign Policy; the East and the West smartly balanced, but testing times lie ahead as the Ukraine war winds down and China starts to get impatient over Taiwan.

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India emerged through that period relatively less affected.  It was also the period in which religious radicalism started to come to the fore and we witnessed the initiation of sponsored proxy conflict in J&K as an almost direct result of this. The phenomenon of proxy war continued to remain a high threat for close to thirty years and hasn’t completely receded yet. Through 1989-91 India withstood a major economic crisis when it’s forex reserves plunged to just a bare one billion US $.

It also saw the creation of major geopolitical voids with rush of forces to fill them. That is what initiated the New Great Game in Central Asia. NATO became relatively less relevant, on the lookout for adversaries to justify its existence. Most importantly that was a period in which China was not so acrimonious, although the portents of arrogance had just about begun to surface. India’s focus was on its western borders, internal turbulence and primarily on restructuring its economy in keeping with market norms. We sailed through the transition from the Cold War relatively unscathed.

2020-22 may not be as kind or could be far better, depending on which way you look at the environment.  In the last two years, the world has been in a turbulent flux. The Coronavirus pandemic has had a telling effect on national economies of several countries. India’s aspiration of reaching the level of a five trillion US$ economy has had to be delayed. While India did well to contain the negative impact of the inevitable lockdowns, recovery is proving a challenge. Inflationary trends continue due to disruptions in global supply chains in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war. The energy sector in particular has had a very negative effect and the overall churn in the global energy scene does not seem to augur well.

Economic imperatives drive many geopolitical compulsions and the current trends are not favouring us. The attempted Chinese coercion in Apr 2020 and the chain of events at the LAC since then amply clarified China’s intent of cautioning India on the growing Indian strategic confidence witnessed through some strategic events and decisions taken by the Indian Government. In an adaptation of its wolf warrior strategy, China tried cowing down India so that the latter would shy from playing its rightful role as an emerging big power and a middle power which had already arrived. China’s strategy reflected a lack of understanding of India’s perceived threat perception; a perception which had led India to seek equations and partnerships with relevant nations to bide the transition times to a higher strategic status, based upon comprehensive national power.

It’s from Aug 2021 that international geopolitics underwent a major change. The US withdrawal from Afghanistan readied it to focus on the area of its prime concern; the Indo Pacific. It had already strived to undertake measures to stabilise the Middle East to the extent that it would not erupt dangerously. The Biden Administration’s readiness to engage with Iran was by itself a step towards such stabilisation of the Middle East, besides the Abraham accords signed between the US, Israel and Arab nations such as UAE.

With terrorism on the decline and forces of extremism locked in deadly battles in North Afghanistan, the situation was tailor made for the proverbial US switch to the new pivot in Asia to prepare the grounds for future contestation against China. That is when Vladimir Putin decided to pull the carpet and prevent the further boxing in of Russia, as he perceived. The Russia-Ukraine war has altered geopolitical equations like no other strategic event in years; a pathbreaking event which much like 9/11 has forced a turn in history. It’s just the event which has had such a profound impact that it is difficult to fathom what effect the outcomes will ultimately have.

On the face of it, it seems just another conflict but the war in Ukraine has firstly given greater meaning to NATO. It is providing it the type of unity it could never have achieved after the recent years of bickering over individual national defence budgets and the division of strategic responsibilities. The rejuvenation of NATO is also a result of the fresh threats which Europe now perceives; a hark back to Cold War times and signs of a resurgent Russia.

While China and Europe have had the best of economic relationships, the Ukraine war brings them into indirect confrontation through China’s strong relationship with Russia. The Sino-Russian relationship is of course not cast in stone, but the broad contours of current interest based strategic grouping would force Europe to cast its lot more strongly with the US, thus bringing a clash of interests to the fore. Stretching this clash of interests to the next theatre, in the Indo-Pacific would remain a strong possibility as Europe would probably continue to perceive the situation in the Indo-Pacific as an enlarged extension of the Cold War; the difference being the fact that instead of just the Soviet Union being the adversary this time, it is a Sino-Russia combine.

Although it is tempting to imagine NATO with a potential role in the Indo Pacific it is likely that it will remain restricted to European security and avoid over stretching itself. An extended NATO role in the Middle East could, however, be on the cards.

India’s dilemma remains its compulsion to go along with the US so as not to dilute what has already been achieved in an abiding strategic relationship in the making. It realises its own significance in the strategy that the US wishes to play out in the Indo Pacific. Yet, there is Russia and it needs no great imagination to perceive that Indo- Russian relations cannot just be wished away. Besides the legacy relationship there is the tangible domain of the supply of military hardware, 60 percent or more of which is of Russian origin. Russia’s mere presence in the Asian theatre and particularly its linkages with its southern near abroad region in Central Asia is also an important regional consideration for India. It is well understood that when it comes to the northern borders along the Himalayas India will be alone in its fight, but Russian support would be of great significance in the pressures that can be built upon China.

The Indian dilemma of remaining neutral comes with an informed angle to our commentary on the need for earliest termination of hostilities in Ukraine. This has been accepted as a sentiment of national interest. However, it is not fully gelling with the worldwide sentiment. Snide remarks about India’s expectations of support of the international community in a crisis with China and these expectations not being met, are meant to be low grade diplomatic warnings. This is something India will need to live with, remaining engaged with both camps, the one led by the US and the other by Russia. The clear danger lies in meeting the ire of both without the sentiment of going the full way with either.

In the near future India will be confronted with live issues related to purchase of discounted Russian energy supplies and the continued receipt of the S 400 air defence systems from Russia for which Rs 39,000 crores have been spent. There have been some unthought through advisories to India about US readiness to replace Russian military hardware with western equipment. Such replacements of families and generations of military equipment on which militaries have trained extensively and even fought engagements, are not done overnight.

The US has thus far displayed no signs of slapping the legislation Countering America’s Adversary Threats Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) on India for not supporting the sanctions against Russia. The recent Indo US Dialogue at 2+2 level got elevated to the level of the Indian Prime Minister and US President clearly sending signals on the degree of importance that the US attaches to the emerging Indo-US strategic partnership. It was a gesture perhaps to woo India away but should preferably not be seen in that light. The seriousness with which the US is approaching its relationship with India must be respected and the Indian Government hasn’t placed one wrong step in the balancing game. Can this be perpetuated endlessly without a tilt to one side or the either is the question. Strategic balance in relationships with big powers is never easy.

At the cost of repetition let it be reiterated that the sentiment being attracted by India is primarily due to two factors. First is the currency and potential of the Indian economy which is at the moment under severe inflationary trends. However, the manner in which it bounced back after taking tremendous beating from the conditions let loose by the pandemic, seems to add value to the potential of its return to vibrance. The Chinese economy on the other hand is currently showing early signs of losing stamina. The second factor is the geo-strategic location which affords it and its partners the opportunity to dominate the sea lanes in the Indian Ocean which carry China’s energy and the containers of its manufactured products which form its exports.

In the wake of the war in Ukraine, China will have to reconsider and review its own war winning capability. It cannot risk defeat or even stalemate because its dreams of empire rest on military domination. A military setback will sap confidence and push its intended rise to superpower status well beyond the ambitious dates it has set for itself. Initial analyses in Feb 2022 pointed to a potential operation to wrest Taiwan even as Russia was tackling Ukraine. The Russian setback should caution China against misadventure.

The emerging situation provides India with sufficient opportunity to leverage strategic advantage by working on the doubts created in China’s psyche. We can afford to be more aggressive in a calibrated way at least on the areas illegally occupied by China. The failure of Chinese economic efforts to cultivate the South Asian neighbourhood must also be exploited; both Maldives and Sri Lanka are providing great opportunities which India is already handling well. The measures must all aim at the long term to be strategic in nature. Bangladesh’s economy too is not highly stable and sooner than later India may have to step in with a bail-out package.

Pakistan is proving to be a basket case and change of government must again be viewed as opportunity. Without compromising on basic values laid down for functional relationships, India may yet be able to ensure that the ceasefire sustaining at the LoC continues to remain intact since Feb 2021.

Lastly, India must not lose the advantage of the threshold status it has achieved against the run of play. Internal security too must be tightened and communal amity promoted. India cannot afford to be strong externally and brittle internally.

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India’s importance today in the context of geopolitics has come with a series of steps, turbulences, and foreign policy relations that has shaped its cooperation with different countries coming out of the Non-aligned movement[5]. India has attempted to be a significant player in the global geopolitics. Being a strong candidate for the permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), and additionally getting elected for the 8^th time as a Non-Permanent member, India is proving its point in getting its voice heard (Livemint 2021)[6].

Earlier, India was viewed as a country with limited binoculars and its foreign policy tools at the infancy stages. But today, India is practicing multipolar alliances and altering the way the Global North looks at the mandates of Global South (Mishra. 2018)[7]. India’s foreign policy has been evolutionary and not a one stroke shot that created the tools through which it conducts its bilateral as well as multilateral relations.

Striking a vocal advocacy to significantly reduce the nuclear proliferation, India has formed an important observation at the treaties like Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which happens to be discriminatory and authoritative[8]. India’s presence in Afghanistan promoted its soft power approach in terms of medical tourism (Mehdi 2014)[9]. Its relations with Central Asian countries were marked by her zenith to practice foreign policy not just for investments, but also resources[10]. It’s signing of the Indo-US Nuclear deal was hailed as the crucial first step to act on providing the energy security to the Nation that is emerging and competing rapidly with other developed countries (Dutt. 2011)[11]. Foreign Policy scholars like Kenneth Waltz, Emmanuel Wallerstein, and Joseph Nye have regularly cited the approach of realism in conducting foreign policy (Roy. 2018)[12].

India is not only looking to engage with countries based out of bilateral interests only, but also seeking avenues to engage multilaterally with its own viewpoint that helps to promote her national interests; which is why we see her withdrawal from Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) (Dhar 2019)[13], but an active participation in ASEAN, BIMSTEC, and IBSA. It participates with highly developed countries like US, Japan, and Australia to not only usher the importance of democracy, but also showcase the significance of free and open Indo-Pacific that can tie countries culturally and politically without compromising the needs of her own national interest, that also encompasses the growing value of the Indo-Pacific, that has transitioned in international parlance from the erstwhile Asia-Pacific.

Intra-regional trade within SAARC accounts to around 2.7 per cent for India, according to a report by the Reserve Bank of India[14]. During the pandemic, India called on SAARC members to participate and engage in curbing the menace of Covid-19 through development of a SAARC health fund[15], which by doing so; India fueled a new dimension through which India attempted to bandage the fissure created by Pakistan due to terrorist attacks[16]. India is also vocal at the UNGA sessions as well as UNSC meetings about terrorism. Countries like China have supported the banning of international terrorists based out of credible evidences cited by India (Chinoy. 2019)[17]. Other countries of the P-5 (US, UK, France, and Russia) have also come out in support of India’s call to end the scourge of terrorism.

India is not only looking and acting east, but also exploring its ideas that were on paper earlier. Gujral Doctrine, for instance was touted as India’s strategy to mutually cooperate and even take ‘one yard ahead’ if her neighbors take ‘one inch step’. We have not started conducting foreign policy only out of recent paradigms like the Paris Climate Accord and even the SCO dialogues, but we have taken generational leap towards advocating for globalization that is not North-South based, but ‘equitable treatment’ based. We actively do not support ideas that may benefit a certain few, but causing anemia at the periphery.

Globally important groupings like Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) recognizes India as a country with world’s largest minority population that is capable to drive and implement policies for furthering the betterment of its minority people. We are invited to be a guest at the events of globally dominant like that of G-7. Rostow’s ‘take off’ model[18] has aptly been applied to India as well, as we see its evolution from NAM to recent policy conducts with likeminded countries for free and open Indo-Pacific.

India formed international groupings by creating non-discriminatory, transparent, and rational based associations like International Solar Alliance wherein developed countries like USA has also expressed its interest (Economic Times 2021)[19]. India’s multilateral approach is also witnessed through Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and its motto lies in strengthening economies to withstand harsh effects of climate change (Press Information Bureau 2019)[20]. We surpassed developed countries like Germany and Britain in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), and we have jumped leaps in easing our business environment for our foreign investors (Ghosh 2020)[21].

It is time for India to shape architecture and develop initiatives that can help countries become an active participant in being a part of globalization movement, which in recent times have been shaken due to nationalist elements by select countries.

India’s multilateral drive is reflected through current dynamics like Indo-EU free trade agreement (Kasturi 2021)[22], Indo-Britain trade talks[23], and even signing all four foundational agreements with the USA for military intelligence and defense apparatus sharing mechanism that dates back to 2001 with the recent one being Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA). India recently invited Central Asian countries to participate as guests in the annual republic day showcasing India’s cultural and political diversity[24]. The nations are looking at India to be an important internationalist in engaging and making spaces for the growth, prosperity, and geopolitical stimulation that can help other nations develop. Thus, India has to position itself as not only as net development provider, but also net security provider.

Some of the tools through which India can leverage this element are based out of competing with countries that are globally competitive, regionally growth oriented, and individually ambitious. So, India’s trade with Vietnam and simultaneous agreement with Singapore on education can be advantageous for the three countries. Indo-Britain trade talks can lead to materialization of mutual interests in promoting a greater integration of Indian Ocean to that of the English Channel.

So, India’s deliverables will have to be assessed and that will help in expanding the frontiers of foreign relations that is practiced by one of the oldest democracies of the world.

At the peak of the 21^st century that has been called as the ‘Asian Century’, it is time for the ‘Indian Decade’ to grow and prosper so that India’s idea of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakham and self-reliance can bloom and the global south gets heard. In fact, the core values of Indian foreign policy are also enshrined in the ethos through which we conduct and implement them, development of all and free and open discussions on global issues are some of them.

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References-

[1] The Peace of Westphalia, signed in 1648, ended the Thirty and Eighty Years Wars and created the framework for modem international relations.

[2] Smith, Sheila. (2021). The Quad in the Indo-Pacific: What to Know. Council on Foreign Relations. Accessed at https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/quad-indo-pacific-what-know

[3] The Treaty established a European Union based on the three European Communities.

[4] On 8 December 1985, the SAARC Charter was adopted, in Dhaka, during the first summit of the group. The Charter was signed by the leaders of eight South Asian nations- Bangladesh, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Maldives, Nepal, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

[5] The principles of peaceful coexistence were outlined at the conference in Bandung (Indonesia) in 1955, and the first Conference of Non-Aligned Countries was held in 1961 in Belgrade at the initiative of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY).

[6] Livemint (2021). India should have a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, says US President Biden. Accessed at https://www.livemint.com/news/world/india-should-have-permanent-seat-in-un-security-council-says-us-president-biden-11632534530047.html

[7] Mishra, A. IBSA and South-South Cooperation: An Appraisal. Accessed at https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/ibsa-and-south-south-cooperation-an-appraisal/

[8] The Hindu (2015). India and the CTBT. Accessed at https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/india-and-the-ctbt/article6892680.ece

[9] Mafar, Zafar (2014). For Afghan patients, all routes lead to Indian hospitals. Scroll.in. Accessed at https://scroll.in/article/690844/for-afghan-patients-all-routes-lead-to-indian-hospitals

[10]  Mishra, S. (2021). India on the right track to bolster relations with Central Asia. ORF. Accessed at https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/india-on-the-right-track-to-bolster-relations-with-central-asia/

[11] Dutt, VP (2011). India’s Foreign Policy since Independence. National Book Trust (NBT).

[12] Roy, N. (2018). Realism in the study of International relations in India. ORF. Accessed at https://www.orfonline.org/research/realism-in-the-study-of-international-relations-in-india-43817/

[13] Dhar, B. (2019). India’s Withdrawal from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. EPW. Accessed at https://www.epw.in/journal/2019/45/notes/indias-withdrawal-regional-comprehensive-economic.html

[14] Jain, R. & Singh, J.B. Trade Pattern in SAARC Countries: Emerging Trends and Issues. RBI. Accessed at https://rbi.org.in/scripts/bs_viewcontent.aspx?Id=2255

[15] Mishra, V. (2020). SAARC’s Resurrection: Leadership in the Time of COVID-19.  Indian Council of World Affairs. Accessed at https://www.icwa.in/show_content.php?lang=1&level=3&ls_id=4651&lid=3503

[16] IndiaToday (2016). SAARC: Maldives joins India, 4 others in boycott; Pak’s isolation complete. Accessed at https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/saarc-summit-maldives-joins-india-pakistan-isolation-complete-344244-2016-10-01

[17] Chinoy, S. (2019). Why China changed its stand on Masood Azhar. The Hindu. Accessed at https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/why-china-changed-its-stand-on-masood-azhar/article27211058.ece

[18] The take off stage is characterized by dynamic economic growth. As Rostow suggests, all is premised on a sharp stimulus (or multiple stimuli) that is/are any or all of economic, political and technological change. The main feature of this stage is rapid, self-sustained growth.

[19] Economic Times (2021). US joins India-led International Solar Alliance as member country. Accessed at https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/renewables/us-joins-india-led-international-solar-alliance-as-member-country/articleshow/87632201.cms

[20] Press Information Bureau (2019). Prime Minister announces Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure at UN Climate Action Summit 2019. Accessed at https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1586051

[21] Ghosh, S. (2020). India jumps to 63 in 2020 EODB survey, China slumps. Accessed at https://www.livemint.com/news/world/india-jumps-to-63-in-2020-eodb-survey-china-slumps-in-updated-list-5-facts-11608422562616.html

[22]  Kasturi, C. (2021). s India on the cusp of a flurry of free trade deals?. Accessed at https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/12/10/is-india-on-the-cusp-of-a-flurry-of-free-trade-deals

[23] BBC (2022). UK and India launch trade talks ‘worth billions’. Accessed at https://www.bbc.com/news/business-59972444

[24] The Hindu (2021). Five Central Asian leaders invited as R-Day chief guests. Accessed at https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/five-central-asian-leaders-invited-as-r-day-chief-guests/article37947174.ece

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