Mike Pompeo: India joined the Quad because of China's aggressive stance, claims former US Secretary of State

Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has claimed that India, which has an independent stand on foreign policy, had to change its strategic position due to China's aggressive actions. This is the reason why India was forced to join the quad group of four countries. 

He said that there has been a deadlock between India and China on the border in eastern Ladakh for more than 31 months. Bilateral ties came under severe strain in June 2020 following a deadly clash in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh.    

India says that bilateral relations with China cannot be normal until there is peace in the border area. Pompeo in his recent book 'Never Give An Inch: Fighting for the America I Love' termed India as a 'wild card' in the Quad because it was a nation based on socialist ideology. 

According to him, India had neither allied with the US nor the erstwhile Soviet Union during the Cold War era. He said, “India has always carved its own path without joining any bloc. But China's antics have prompted India to change its strategic position in the last few years. 

   

Pompeo (57 years old) is being speculated to participate in the presidential election to be held in 2024. In his book, Pompeo has explained how the Donald Trump administration was successful in bringing India into the Quad group. The US, Japan, India and Australia shaped the Quad in 2017 to counter China's aggressive behavior in the resource-rich Indo-Pacific region. Its proposal was long pending.

Pompeo wrote, “China has forged a close partnership with Pakistan as one of the first steps in its Belt and Road Initiative.”

In June 2017, twenty Indian soldiers were killed in a border skirmish by Chinese troops. That bloody incident inspired the Indian public to demand a change in their country's relations with China.

He said, 'India banned Tiktok and dozens of Chinese apps as part of its response. Later, hundreds of thousands of Indian citizens died due to a Chinese virus. I am sometimes asked why India has moved away from China and my answer which came straight from the Indian leadership was 'don't you do that?' 

Times were changing and providing opportunities for us to try something new and build a closer relationship between the US and India than ever before.    

In his book, Pompeo has described former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as a global leader with extraordinary courage and vision. Abe is regarded as the father of the Quad who demonstrated his foresight in seeing the CCP as a threat.

Pompeo writes that Shinzo Abe also coined the idea of a 'free and open Indo-Pacific', a concept that gained stability in diplomatic circles. According to Pompeo, the assassination of Shinzo Abe, an outstanding leader in the year 2022 was a great loss to the world that this outstanding leader was killed in 2020.

Pompeo also praised former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison for showing courage and standing up to Chinese aggression. He wrote that the Japanese and Australian pillars of the Quad were strong and were getting stronger with our support. 

China is embroiled in territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. China claims sovereignty over the entire South China Sea. There are also claims by Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan. 

Beijing has also built up and militarized many of the islands and reefs it controls in the region. Both regions are said to be rich in minerals, oil and other natural resources and are also important for global trade.