Washington badly needs New Delhi to strengthen an alliance of like-minded nations in the Indo-Pacific region to contain the rapid rise of Beijing in the world.

It knew that India and China did not get along well in the Himalayas, and there had been some skirmishes between Indian and Chinese troops at the border.

Thus, the United States supported the creation of the so-called Quadrilateral Security Dialogue in 2007 and subsequently held joint exercises “Malabar” with Australia, India, and Japan.

When the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe suggested fostering closer diplomatic cooperation among the four countries, it was not meant to be a military alliance.

Australia withdrew from the grouping in 2008 and stopped sending troops to the “Malabar” exercises in the Indian Ocean.

But, a decade later, in Manila during an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, the four countries revived the grouping, transforming it into an alliance to check China’s rapid rise in the region.

Some experts called the new QUAD structure the beginning of an Asian NATO, or North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

But is it a viable alliance against China? Is the QUAD an alliance to rival the growing relationship among China, North Korea, and Russia?

That could put India’s role into question as it has a robust relationship with Russia, which has been helping New Delhi build advanced defense systems, like the mid-range BrahMos missiles.

Nonetheless, Washington remains interested in New Delhi to contain Beijing, taking advantage of its worsening border dispute with China.

The United States has also been using the “Sino-phobic” card to enlist Southeast Asian states, particularly the Philippines and Vietnam, into the growing Asian NATO structure, not just the QUAD security dialogue.

It also institutionalized the Japan-the Philippines-United States (JaPUS) alliance in an April 2024 summit in Washington.

However, it will not stop there as the US has been attempting to expand the alliance with other ASEAN states, possibly Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam.

Over the last decade, Washington’s influence and dominance in the region waned as Beijing continued to seek military parity, building the largest navy in the world, developing the sixth-generation fighter, and stockpiling more conventional and strategic missiles.

The US cannot confront China alone. It needs ASEAN and India, plus Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea.

There are three potential flashpoints in the Asia Pacific region and it prominently involve the China – Taiwan Straits, the South China Sea, and the Korean peninsula. 

Why was India important not only to QUAD but to emerging Asian NATO?

Washington has been trying to push New Delhi, a nuclear weapon state, to take more active steps to deter Beijing from the region.

Washington wanted tensions between New Delhi and Beijing to increase, using it as a pawn in a chess game.  As such the US did not recognize India, ASEAN, and other allies in the region as co-equals.

India also did not even get much-needed support from the US when Ottawa continuously attacked New Delhi on the issue of Sikh separation. Both the US and the United Kingdom were behind Canada.

It appeared that the US wanted a one-way street relationship with India. It only wanted to benefit from the relations.

For instance, in pressuring India to do more to confront China, it also wanted New Delhi to condemn Moscow’s military action in Kyiv, and end its technical cooperation in weapons development.

The US has accused China of supporting Russia in the Ukraine conflict, suggesting that the friend of an enemy is also an enemy.

The Indian government under Narendra Modi must examine its national interests closely. Modi must navigate delicately its relations with the US and Russia.  

The US has been playing the China card, but it wants India to end ties with Russia, where it gets cheap oil and technology to develop its weapon system.

In the end, India must decide where it would benefit more economically and militarily.

Like the Philippines, its differences with China over the South China Sea are the total of the two nations’ relationship.

Maybe, India could learn a lesson from the Philippines.