By Prashanth Parameswaran
A former Indian foreign secretary is upbeat on the revival of the so-called ‘quad.’
India may have quadrilateral military exercises with the United States, Japan and Australia in the Indian Ocean in the coming years, a former Indian foreign secretary told an audience in Washington, D.C. Thursday.
The quadrilateral security dialogue – or ‘quad’ – was a short-lived initiative in 2007 where the assistant secretary-level diplomats from the United States, Japan, India and Australia met on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum. Though initiative died after one meeting – largely due to fears from China over perceived containment – some have called for its revival amid an even greater convergence among the Asia-Pacific giants, particularly in the wake of growing concerns about China’s rise.
Speaking at The Heritage Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, on Tuesday, Kanwal Sibal, who previously served as Indian foreign secretary, expressed optimism at this convergence, suggesting that there may even be military exercises between the four countries in the next few years.
“To my mind, this is a step-by-step process, and I won’t be surprised if at some stage we also have the quadrilateral exercises in the Indian Ocean,” Sibal, who now serves as dean of the Center for International Relations and Diplomacy at the Vivekananda International Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank, told the audience.
Read the full story at The Diplomat