Editor's Pick: Can India be part of a militaristic Quad?

(The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.)

India's Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat has said that the 'Quad' alliance among India, U.S., Japan, and Australia can be a mechanism to ensure 'Freedom of Navigation' in the Indian Ocean and surrounding regions. He said this will ensure there is "no fear of any other nation singularly trying to dominate the oceans."

The 'Quad' alliance was formed in the aftermath of the 2006 tsunami among the nations that coordinated the relief efforts in the Indian Ocean. However, Beijing holds strong views on the 'Quad' becoming an 'Asian NATO' to contain its influence in the region. Consequently, the Quad has refrained from exhibiting a military purpose to avoid antagonising China. India has left out Australia from the Malabar naval exercises with U.S. and Japan expressly for this purpose.

General Rawat's statement introduces a militaristic prospect for the alliance, with a not-so-subtle reference to China. This comes on the same day that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar emphasised that diplomacy is the solution to India-China tensions. At present, both U.S.-China and India-China relations are quite agggravated and the Quad is a possible fit in strategic calculations. However, India is the only country in the Quad that shares a land border with China; tensions in the high seas could play out in the mountains and vice versa. Also, a militaristic Quad could draw India into conflicts in the south Pacific it has not been involved in so far. The geopolitical consequences of a militaristic Quad which Gen. Rawat hinted at is what makes this story important.