The issue of India, Japan, United States and Australia quadrilateral had gathered much momentum particularly due to Chinese perception of a Gang of Four against Beijing’s interests in the region. As per Wikipedia, “In June (2007), China had issued a 'demarche' to India, United States, Japan and Australia seeking details about their four-nation meeting, termed a Quadrilateral Initiative. India and Australia had quickly assured Beijing that security and defence issues did not form part of the meeting's agenda”. Thereafter Malabar exercises were low key affairs and were bilateral engagements between India and the United States. However the issue has gained traction with Mr Shinzo Abe becoming the Prime Minister in Japan recently. Mr Abe is said to be the architect of the quadrilateral.
Australian Foreign Minister Senator Bob Carr however rejected the possibility of reactivating the quadrilateral in a media interaction on 21 January 2012 after the eighth round of Framework Dialogue between India and Australia. Responding to a question by an Australian journalist during the Conference, Carr called the proposal hypothetical, he said, “I met my counterpart the Japanese Foreign Minister, Minister Kishida, in Sydney the weekend before last, and he did not raise this idea. When it comes to the trilateral involving Japan, India and Australia, it remains hypothetical. We would welcome separate discussions with Japan. But there is no formal proposal for a trilateral on issues we discussed today. So, that remains a hypothetical possibility. The quadrilateral it is probably fair to say is even more ambitious than that. Again, it is clearly hypothetical”. Quite apparently Australia is not keen to ratchet up tensions with China.
The response by the Indian External Affairs Minister Mr Salman Khurshid was no different. Khurshid stated, “I would have given you the same answer. I think that Australia and India are on the same page. Every time you move beyond bilateral to something that is trilateral, quadrilateral or multilateral, you look at many implications, and you look at the content and the context, and then you take a decision as you move. But the issues that you mention are already being looked at in various fora”.
Khurshid however highlighted the need to ensure freedom of navigation in the international waters stating, “And a stated position of freedom of navigation on open seas is the same between Australia and ourselves that the law of the sea must prevail. And I think this has been reiterated many times over”.
Australian Foreign Minister Senator Bob Carr also highlighted the enhanced cooperation between India and Australia on the defence and security fields including the first ever visit of the Indian Defence Minister Mr A K Antony to Australia. Carr said, “I am pleased that we have been able to agree to work together on shared security challenges including joint efforts to combat terrorism, with Australia hosting the next meeting of the Joint Working Group we have on combating terrorism. We agreed on an expanded bilateral dialogue on cyber policy. We discussed maritime security in the Indian Ocean. I welcome the forthcoming visit to Australia by Defence Minister of Antony which would be the first ever by an Indian Defence Minster to Australia. Again that is confirmation of how we are working more closely than ever in the past”.
Australian strategic review, Australia in the Asian Century has also reiterated the importance of relations with India.
This Article first appeared on Security Risks and is reposted here under a Creative Commons license.