In this context, in which the Quad is maturing[46] and presented as an important pillar of stability, key questions arise: What are the concrete measures of the Quad to help the countries of the region reduce their emissions as part of their commitments under the Paris Agreement? How does the Quad see the fight against climate change outside the scope of other existing international platforms? Indeed, given the increasing pace and scale of the Group`s activities, the Quad is becoming one of the most important multilateral forums advocating for a strengthened security partnership in the post-COVID-19 global order. In addition, an active quad helps dispel long-held speculation that the Indo-Pacific is a largely dormant construction. As the stakes are higher than ever, each of the four members of the Quad must play a greater role in balancing threats and power games in the Indo-Pacific. Every step forward at the quad will put Beijing in a difficult position to realize China`s great power ambitions. Therefore, the advent of the Quad as a unified front committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific will certainly destabilize China. If China continues to go to the security border and test the determination of quad members, the group will become exactly the kind of anti-China force Beijing fears. 8 “Watch: India, US, Japan and Australia together for Malabar 2020 Naval Exercise,” Economic Times, October 6, 2020, economictimes.indiatimes.com/. To achieve its goals, the Quad has stepped up its military activities in recent years – and this has not escaped global attention. On the one hand, the navies of the four countries are participating in the high-profile Malabar exercises. At the same time, bilateral military relations in the form of exercises and defense agreements have also tightened.
Equally important, high-level 2+2 dialogues between Member States have become a regular part of the diplomatic calendar. Emerging quad initiatives give India the chance to play a leading role in supporting a supply chain for public goods. This comes especially after India refused to ratify RCEP over fears that its domestic production would suffer from the influx of imports from China and the struggling agricultural and dairy sectors that compete with Australia and New Zealand. Supporters of free trade agreements have criticized India`s decision to distance itself from the mega-trading bloc as a continuation of the protectionist economic policies India has pursued in the past. The new quad seems to be due to the growing cooperation between its member countries. Last year, a normalization agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates led to a wave of new agreements focused on investment, energy and healthcare. Meanwhile, India has strengthened its relations with Israel. In 2017, Narendra Modi became the first Indian prime minister to visit the country – an important step given New Delhi`s longstanding ties to the Palestinian cause.
Finally, relations between the United States and India have continued to deepen. Another concern that was expressed was that AUKUS “facilitates strategic cooperation within the framework of the Quad. and reducing the four-sided clustering to deal only with climate change, COVID vaccines, etc. “This is a departure from the usual criticism in India that Delhi has cooperated too much with the US in this regard. In fact, India itself has been reluctant to securitize the quad, especially visibly. And the Quad jointly decided to focus on areas that contribute to building resilience in the region and to show that the cluster can provide practical solutions to regional problems. This does not and has not excluded the security dimensions of cooperation between the four countries, as the ongoing MALABAR exercise and technological cooperation clearly demonstrate. This has certainly not ruled out a deepening of bilateral defense and security relations between the United States and India. Unfortunately, Western multinationals are preparing India for globalization, in a process of deglobalization, by relocating or almost securing their activities. According to the World Investment Report 2020, the average “transnationality” of multinational enterprises – an indicator that reflects their relative share of foreign assets, sales and employees – has stagnated at 65% over the past decade.
Multinational companies have the choice to diversify their supply chains to manage the risks of climate change, conflict and pandemics. [19] For Western multinationals to prefer diversification to India over relocation, the strategic advantages of quad biking need to be made more compelling. The authors suggest that if ever a quadrupled trade deal became a reality, reducing trade costs would go a long way towards realizing the alliance`s economic potential. Third, strengthening the strategic partnership between India and the UNITED States, mainly through defence relations, is a powerful counterweight to India`s rivals. This is illustrated by increased engagement between New Delhi and Washington, D.C., as outlined in the four basic agreements between the two countries, including the Agreement on the General Security of Military Information (GSOMIA, 2002). Memorandum of Understanding on Logistics Exchange (LEMOA, 2016); and Agreement on Compatibility and Security of Communications (COMCASA, 2018); and finally, the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA, 2020), which promotes interoperability between the two armed forces and provides for the sale and transfer of high-end technologies. More importantly, improved relations will significantly increase India`s military capabilities, especially in the targeted fight against targets – an urgent need for India to closely monitor Chinese movements along the Himalayan border and map China`s growing presence in the Indian Ocean. For India, however, the new defense deal is inextricably linked to its own involvement and strategic calculations in relation to the Quad.
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