The New Alliance

The geo-strategic location of Indo-pacific has yet again added one more pact to it’s core. AUKUS, abbreviate for Australia, United kingdom and United states is a military pact between the nations which tend to provide the nuclear submarine to Australia. Australia has till now used only diesel- electric submarines. This pact will enhance it’s defense power, specifically naval power, to great extent. The nations have also emphasized on why the need of such a pact was felt and yet again the “Chinese influence” has come into play.

The assertiveness of China in the Indian ocean region threatening the freedom of navigation, freedom of trade, freedom of flight and passage is the primary reason for signing this pact. China has criticized the pact and has said that the nations are trying to side line China. It’s has invited nations to work collectively towards global peace which seemed a bit hypocritic knowing China’s conflict with Taiwan, it’s policy in south China sea and it’s keenness to recognize the newly established Talibani government.

On the other hand the pact is of great importance to Australia. Getting nuclear submarines was important for the nation as geographically it is a bit isolated and it might not be possible to send help during the time of conflict or emergency. The pact has also ensured more involvement of US and UK in Indo-pacific. US has been part of some pacts before too but for UK this is the first time to be directly involved in the Indo-pacific. Questions have also been raised regarding it’s impact on QUAD to which the officials of the respective countries have clarified that both the organizations have different mandate and focus on different areas of cooperation.

QUAD is a plurilateral alliance which focuses mainly on the issues like climate change, tackling COVID, vaccinations, providing humanitarian relief, technological cooperation, maritime security and education. QUAD is not a military pact whereas AUKUS is a military pact. Although officials have said that it will not impact QUAD but the region might witness some positive and negative impact of the pact. India has showcased a mixed set of reactions. Some of it’s officials have welcomed it whole heartedly whereas some have said that it is a major policy failure for Delhi. They feel that it could have been a great chance for the nation to get the hands on one of the finest nuclear submarine technology in the world which no doubt would have enhanced the naval power of India.

For now it is safe to say that the positive aspect of the alliance outlaw the negative ones. Further the future will unfold. France, one of the closest ally of the US, on the other hand has seen it as a betrayal calling it a stab in the back as it has led to the cancellation of a multibillion deal between France and Australia which included purchasing of the diesel-electric submarines. This has raised a diplomatic tussle after India welcomed the pact on behalf of QUAD + like minded countries. The statements like that of France torment the diplomatic and reliable image of US now more than ever and after Afghanistan’s mess the impact has been maximized manifold.

Biden administration should also look into building the atmosphere of trust and work towards taking the allies into confidence before taking any major decision which might lead to some major geo-political change. In the past few years IOR and south east Asia have become the center of geo-politics. It is no doubt a very important region. These pacts are of great importance and will definitely help in increasing cooperation among the western and south Asian nations. Simultaneously focus should also be on strengthening the regional alliances.

South Asia does not have any major alliance for the co-ordination and those existing are more or less dominated by some core nations. In order to make balance of power in the region it is important that the regional alliances are more and more promoted. Regular meetings, sufficient funding and equal influential power will play the key role. When the major countries are coming towards IOR, the countries here should realize their strategic importance and focus on building a strong network of economic, military and political prosperity. Expanding the sphere of QUAD and making it more operational organization can also be put on the table. This will be very beneficial for India.

If tackling China is the main objective of these organizations then India will definitely play the key factor here and this will take the game into the oceans which is only where China can be challenged. It is also equally important to look at the economic aspect. It is believed that a new global financial crisis might be brewing in China so it becomes equally important to keep an eye on it too which can be more effectively done by making these alliances more holistic. UK should also focus on resolving it’s issue with Diego Garcia because when you are talking about balance of power and respecting the territorial integrity of the nations it is also equally important to the do the same with other nations.

Taming the dragon is essential and it requires touching all the aspects and tackling it on every front be it military, economical or diplomatically. Focus should also be on quality over quantity of pacts and this will definitely establish a much peaceful Indian ocean region.