Sir — This refers to the editorial, “It takes four to tango” (November 14). Underlying the easy amity between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump is a great game of power calculations. At the heart of their meet are politics and geostrategic interests of the Indo-Pacific Quadrilateral, an informal grouping of four democracies — India, the US, Japan and Australia — intended to maintain a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region besides to counter China’s circle of influence in the Southeast Asian region.
India is trying to seek to deflect China’s pressure on its land borders by making a show of confronting it in the South China Sea in concert with the US and its two junior military associates. But there will be costs and consequences attached. Militarily and economically, India is clearly dwarfed by China’s might, and throughout the Doklam episode, its focus was on reaching a peaceful de-escalation without succumbing to the warmongery of the second-rung leaders of the Communist Party of China.
Troubles in India’s neighbourhood are bound to increase, its handful of Naval assets will degrade and the pressure to buy US equipment is bound to mount. India does not seem to be getting its money’s worth by dealing its strategic cards in this fashion.