After several rounds of marathon discussions held at the top level of the government, India has decided to adopt a more aggressive approach to the ongoing strategy to corner China. With the US already aiming to have a NATO-like alliance with India to deal with the Dragon, New Delhi is working on formalising another small grouping with two countries in order to tackle Beijing more effectively.
According to sources, India is set to form what is being called a ‘mini-lateral’ grouping with Australia and Indonesia. India, Australia and Indonesia will work together in this alliance in the Indo-Pacific region, and the main objective of the grouping will be to rein in expansionist and aggressive China. “A couple of more nations which have problems with Beijing may be added to it once the grouping becomes operational and makes its presence felt,” sources told The Daily Guardian.
The initiative has been given a go-ahead by the top leadership of the country, says an official. Formal meetings of the three nations will be held soon, he added. Foreign ministers of India, Australia and Indonesia will be discussing how to go about this formation. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Australia’s foreign minister Marise Payne and Indonesia’s foreign minister Retno Marsudi will sit together soon to have a detailed plan about forming this grouping as early as possible. Sources said that this meeting may take place either by the end of September or in October. Sources said that the proposal to have this group in place came from Indonesia, which is keen to rein in belligerent China. Indonesia has been averse to Beijing’s aggressive gestures in the South China Sea.
More like-minded countries may be offered to join it in future once expansion plan is approved by all the three nations, said an official. Apart from this, India will be initiating more such efforts aimed at stepping up pressure on China. India is considering it a positive development that the US is continuously issuing statements slamming Chinese aggressive behaviour. The Trump Administration already blocked business activities of several Chinese companies. The US administration will come up with more stringent action against China if it did not mend its ways, say Indian diplomatic sources.