In calling out China as an aggressor both in Ladakh and Taiwan, the Trump administration is not only offering support to its key partners in Indo-Pacific but also laying foundation to long term relationships with the middle-powers in the region.
While not much has come out of the path-breaking October 6 QUAD security dialogue in public domain, Hindustan Times learns that China was indeed the elephant in the room and its actions whether in Ladakh, Taiwan, South China Sea or Senkaku Islands were sombrely assessed to understand the new rising global power. That the QUAD partners chose to hold a physical meeting with Australian foreign minister Marise Payne going into a 14-day mandatory quarantine after her return from Tokyo, indicates the seriousness of the dialogue. It is quite evident that the dialogue is there to stay with all the four democracies quite comfortable with each other even though each has a different score to settle with Beijing. If Ladakh’s military standoff is a threat to India, the Chinese aggression on Taiwan are a matter of serious concern to both Japan and US with Australian at the receiving end on trade issue with Beijing. Read More…
