New bet on China

BrHamdeep Alune

China’s increasing defense budget is a major cause of concern for India. China has invested heavily in ballistic missiles. In such a situation, America seems committed to stop it. For this, his expectations from his other colleagues have also increased.

The assumptions of balance of power and collective security are based on the principle of military deterrence. However, there is no escaping the acceptance of the requirements of war for the establishment of peace. China’s strategic, economic and political ambitions and aggressive behavior have raised fears of war in the Asia-Pacific region.

Now such countries in this region have also been forced to increase nuclear arsenal and state-of-the-art weapons, which till now were considered relatively quiet. The defense agreement that has been signed recently between America, Britain and Australia has been named Ocas. According to this agreement, America will give its submarine technology to Australia. Obviously, after this the Australian Navy will stand at par with the select military powers of the world which are considered to be equipped with nuclear weapons. Several decades ago America shared this technology with Britain as well. Now Australia has become its new partner. America’s growing military cooperation with Australia appears to be a far-reaching step for the entire region, more than a military agreement.

Australia has been very vocal about China in the last few years. China has been Australia’s largest trading partner, but Australia has not shied away from challenging China for its national interests. It started in 2018 when Australia became the first country in the world to ban Chinese company Huawei’s 5G network. After this, Australia also demanded from the world community regarding the corona epidemic that it should investigate China’s role in the origin of the corona virus. When China tried to put pressure on Australia, Australia retaliated, not only strongly criticizing it for the atrocities on the Vigar Muslims living in China, but also canceled two agreements related to its ambitious Belt and Road project. Significantly, Australia is a member of the Quad group which is considered anti-China.

America and these two countries have mutual interests in the Asia-Pacific region behind the deepening dispute between Australia and China. Australia is the smallest continent located in the Southern Hemisphere and is bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the north and east and the Indian Ocean to the west-south. Australia and China share maritime borders. That’s why Australia is concerned about China’s grandeur in the South China Sea. It feels that if China’s submarine can roam in the Indo-Pacific region to exert strategic pressure, then it can certainly come in the West-Pacific region in the future. Australia will now build nuclear-powered submarines after the Ocas agreement. These special submarines can stay in water for months and can fire missiles at long range. Then, the presence of nuclear submarines in Australia would also be helpful in increasing American influence in the Southern Hemisphere. Over the past decade, the US has taken several steps aimed at confronting China in the Asia Pacific region. From this point of view, after the formation and activism of the Quad group, now the Occa is considered very special. This is a purely military agreement.

The recent stance of America is being considered very aggressive against the mutual interests of the Quad countries. The reason for this is also that the members of the Quad, Japan and India, did not come out against China with the same assertiveness as Australia showed. However, India has its own regional and strategic compulsions behind this. He wants strong relations with America, but relations are also normal with the most anti-American countries like Russia and Iran. Japan, on the other hand, appears more committed to its economic interests, including its economic partnership with China. Obviously, for America, Australia has become such a special country in this region, which is continuously adopting an aggressive attitude towards China.

The US is also eyeing the strategic and economic importance of the Indo-Pacific region. In this area, China has escalated disputes by challenging many countries. China wants to establish its dominance in the world by realizing the One Belt One Road project and the Indo-Pacific region has important participation in its center. The growing China-Pakistan partnership has also added to the problems. China is a major partner of Pakistan’s Gwadar port. India’s strategic and maritime security challenges have increased with the Chinese occupation of several uninhabited islands in the Maldives, including Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port, Bangladesh’s Chittagong port, Myanmar’s Sittwe project.

Significantly, the Indo-Pacific region comprises thirty-eight countries that account for forty-four percent of the world’s total surface area, sixty-five percent of the total population, sixty-two percent of the total GDP and forty-six percent of the world’s trade. Ports belonging to the Indo-Pacific region are among the busiest in the world. An important area under this is the South China Sea. The South China Sea is located between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and the Philippines. Here China has disputes with many ASEAN countries. But due to economic dependence on China, most countries have failed to challenge China.

As far as India is concerned, India’s concerns about China are not hidden from anyone. INS Arihant is the only nuclear submarine deployed in the Indian Navy at present. Earlier, the INS Chakra nuclear submarine hired from Russia used to guard the Indian waters. Till now India has been largely dependent on Russia for maritime security. China’s increasing defense budget is a major cause of concern for India. China has invested heavily in ballistic missiles.

In such a situation, America seems committed to stop China. For this, his expectations from his other colleagues have also increased. After the formation of the Ocus between the US, Britain and Australia, the pressure on the rest of the Quad allies, Japan and India, will increase over the military agreement. The Biden administration has recognized that China is the only economic, diplomatic, military and technological rival capable of overcoming the continuing challenge of a stable and open international order. NATO has also declared its full support to America’s aggressive and controlling policy towards China, calling China a challenge to collective security.

Collective security has a clear concept that war cannot be ended in the world, but efforts can be made to control power, which is the root cause of war. Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has already said that the US has decided to reduce its troops from Europe in view of the growing threats from China to India and South-East Asia. Obviously after Australia, America’s expectations will be from India. India has major strategic and economic interests associated with the Indian Ocean. Therefore, now there is every possibility that India should also go ahead with an agreement like Ocas to strengthen its maritime border.