The quad conundrum

India should watch its step while joining a grouping against China

The idea of India, Australia, Japan and the US cooperating in defence and commerce in the Asia-Pacific has been around for over a decade. This “quadrilateral partnership” has also been referred to as a “Concert of Democracies”, underlining its counterpoise to authoritarian China. It first gained traction in 2007, when the navies of the four countries trained together in Exercise Malabar, prompting a diplomatic demarche from Beijing, which wrote to all four capitals acerbically asking who they were training to fight against. In 2008, the quadrilateral fell victim to domestic politics after Australia elected Kevin Rudd prime minister and the